


Ultimate Fanganronpa: Body & Soul

by 264feet



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Despair, Fan Adventure, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Multi, No Spoilers for Canon, POV Third Person, Prose Format
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 83,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22312237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/264feet/pseuds/264feet
Summary: Future Point Academy:Point the Way Toward the Future. Of the prestigious school's three branches, the Ultimate Branch was the most exclusive. An acceptance letter meant becoming set for life. Mariana Lima, the new 'Ultimate Model', thought this would be a chance to become recognized for who she really is— until a bear named Monokuma locks them in and forces them to kill each other.Things often aren't as simple as just Hope and Despair. But there are some students seem to have experienced this before.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 17





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and thank you for reading Body & Soul. This story is an original Fanganronpa that follows the format of the games in a prose style. This takes place in a new universe; the only connection between this and the canon games is the premise and Monokuma. It’s just not Danganronpa without Monokuma, in my opinion. 
> 
> First off, a thank you to AO3 users gonsan and NOT_TOWA_WAKASA (tumblr users narutosux and matrioshka, respectively) for their collaboration. Mariana was created by narutosux and Chuya was created by matrioshka. Souta was created by r0tt13 on tumblr. 
> 
> Body & Soul is the novelization of a roleplay that took place us in mid-2019. Before you run away, the roleplay was only the rough draft and no RP logs are being posted; the novelization will form a full, novel-length story that stands on its own. The full story has concluded, so this will not be an interactive Fanganronpa, I’m afraid. The benefit of this is that I’m not winging it by the seat of my pants, and it won’t be dropped halfway through due to lack of planning. 
> 
> Next, I’d like to warn that there’s canon-typical violence: murders, executions, etc. However, some themes in Body & Soul are heavier than canon Danganronpa. Content warnings include discrimination and mentions of sexual assault. The former represents more of “death of a thousand cuts” rather than gratuitous and explicit racism, and represents the product of research and some personal experience regarding views/attitudes toward minorities in Japan. 
> 
> Finally, this story isn’t on a set update schedule. I’ve written a buffer of several parts and I’ll post them as I feel fit. Thanks for your patience. Please feel free to talk to me about the story on my tumblr, officiallilith.

**PROLOGUE**  
**THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL  
** **CHAPTER 0 EXECUTION: EXECUTED**

At the end of Akira’s life, there’s not much to look at. Just a massive underground chamber, a roller coaster, and a stuffed bear holding the end of the chain around his neck.

Although some people might find this fascinating, he seems unperturbed. Some might take more interest in looking at _him_ , with his sallow skin and sunken cheekbones. His exhausted eyes regard the black and white stuffed bear with disdain as it forces him into the roller coaster car.

The bear ties his chains to the seat. After that, he lowers the young man’s safety harness- they wouldn’t want any accidents! The bear whistles as he strolls over to the controls.

Akira looks off to the side, past the bear, toward a one-way mirror. He knows the person behind it is looking back at him. His cracked lips flash a smile for the briefest of moments.

Finally, the bear slams a big green button and waves as the roller coaster car begins climbing a big hill. Higher and higher it goes, until it breaks free from underground and climbs into the sky, until the clouds are shuddering below him. The sun burns his chalky skin. Beads of sweat race down his forehead.

The car teeters at the brink of the steep hill before him. From here, Akira can’t help but feel like God. Almighty. Powerful. Bound.

With a creak, the roller coaster car rolls downhill and picks up speed. The car swerves and begins in a massive helix down through the clouds, then into the Earth, down towards Hell. Barely conscious, Akira catches sight of something: an adjacent roller coaster car on a similar downward helix. In the seat is a reflection of himself, several years younger. He reaches out to touch his reflection and comes away with a strand of his own blond hair.

The car screams with speed. He reaches the bottom of the helix and so does his reflection. The cars race on straight tracks nearby one another.

His reflection turns at him and smiles. He only realizes it’s not a reflection just as soon as the cars turn and collide into one another.

The explosion shakes the Earth and the clouds and the heavens above. The bear smiles wider as debris rains around it.

The dust clears.

The bear walks over, coughing from the kicked-up dirt. 

Akira Komura’s mangled body lies dead on the ground.

The other him unbuckles his safety harness and steps out, laughing. He slaps the other one’s sunken face, once, twice. No response. He laughs harder and harder. The bear joins in his uproarious laughter.

\---

**HOPE SHIFT: DOCUMENT 1-A2914**

**CLASS 82**

**CLASSIFIED: REGARDING THE KILLING GAME**

**[...]**

That school was the pinnacle of all human achievement. It stood as the crown jewel of Tokyo, drawing awe from the world around it.

It was known as Future Point Academy. The gifted youth who were selected to attend the school’s Ultimate Branch would become the leaders of tomorrow and would shape the world like titans. It was known to take in only the single best person in any given field and then make them even better. The students who attended the Ultimate Branch were known, fittingly, as ‘Ultimates’.

Other students would be accepted into the ████████ Branch and the ██████████ Branch, but their fate would be ██████████████████████████████ as the ████████████████████████████████████████.

The massive school was a source of wonder for everyone, who would do anything just for a glimpse beyond the walls. Visitors were scarce as the school became the subject of controversy after █████████████████████. It was later thought that a developing self-sufficiency only furthered ███████████████████’s plans to make it the site of ████████████████████████████████████████.

Class 82 was the last to be admitted to the Ultimate Branch. It was comprised of ██████████ students: Mariana ██████, ████████ Iga█████████, ████s██████, ████a████████████, ██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████

During their ██████████████ at the school, what occurred was known as ████████████████████████. The world ████████████████████████████████████████████ in an ██████████████████████. The students █████████████████████.█████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████

In an attempt ████████████, Akira begged to ██████████████████████. This was known as ██████████████████████████████████████████████. Highly controversial, all students were aware this would ████████████████████████████████████████████████. The only alternative, however, was death.

Without any hesitations, the students all chose to████████████████████████

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\---

**DAY:** 1

**TIME:** Morning?

Mariana wakes up with her face flat on a desk.

She lifts her head with a jolt. She doesn’t see any makeup smudges on the wood, causing her to sigh with relief. She’d better double check. She reaches into her backpack for her phone only to find nothing.

No compact mirror, no schoolbooks, no hairbrush, no backpack at all. All she has on her is the blue-and-gold uniform that had been tailored for her. Hazily, she remembers that all uniforms here were custom-made, a fact that the tall Brazilian girl had been grateful for. Now she feels she has bigger concerns.

Seeing the school uniform reminds her: where is she? She looks closer at the desk she woke up on. It’s a school desk of standard size. Mariana racks her brain. The last thing she remembers is talking with her Mom on the phone. She had been so excited for her first day at Future Point Academy as the Ultimate Model. Right, she was in the Ultimate Branch.

Being scouted to attend here represented a chance to propel her modeling career to new heights. Maybe then she could make more money, and maybe then-- No, she shouldn’t start fantasizing. She needs to work on the here and now.

So she had apparently passed unconscious and now her things are missing. As she shakes off the grogginess from her unexpected nap, she takes stock of her surroundings. A chalkboard rests against the far wall ahead of her. If there’s writing on it, it’s too dim to make it out— the only light sources are scattered fluorescent bulbs flickering overhead.

Despite the lack of lighting, it’s a typical classroom. She’s sitting in the middle of class, surrounded by other desks. The only other unusual thing are the security cameras scrutinizing her from every angle.

Mariana picks one and gives a little wave. The cold, unfeeling mechanical eye stares on. It’s not an unfamiliar sensation.

Schools typically don’t have this much security, though, and she doesn’t think this is some type of strange modeling job; her manager has her do strange things sometimes, but nothing like this. Maybe it’s a game show? A prank show of some kind—

She jumps when a groan rings out to her right. As her vision gets adjusted to the low lighting, she makes out the shape of a person. At least, it’s ostensibly a person, if a person were smoothed like dough under a massive rolling pin. She’s so tall that she has to crane her knees out to either side of the desk just to fit in, and so skinny that each limb looks like skin wrapped around toothpicks. Her flat black hair falls limply around her face. 

“Eh…? I was asleep?” the girl bemoans. “But I already got my four hours last night…” She balls five long spindly fingers into a fist and rubs her face. Mariana notes that she has no eyebrows, as if they were completely singed off. “Wait… Future… Point Academy?”

“Um, yes! I think that’s where we are! Sorry to surprise you!” Mariana says. The other girl who just awoke might be a seven foot tall freak of nature, but she’s clearly Japanese, and so Mariana is a lesser human being than her. She makes a show of playing up an accent and using simple words. “Do you remember anything?”

The tall girl stares blankly on. “Let’s see…” She begins counting on her long fingers. “I changed my socks and underwear… I put on my uniform… and then I changed out of it and put it on so it wasn’t backwards.” She kicks her legs out, causing the long sailor skirt to flutter. It would be beyond floor-length on a person of normal height, but it’s knee-length to her. “Skirts are weird. With track pants it’s easier to tell. Oh, but then I came to Future Point Academy for my first day, and here I am.”

“I see,” Mariana says, her mouth forming a perfect ‘o’. “I don’t remember anything beyond walking in the door…” She points to the security camera. “Maybe this is some type of game show? I’m like, not very smart, but since this is a famous school… it might be their… what’s the word… orientation?”

The tall girl notices the security camera for the first time and squints. “Huh. Maybe.” She stands from the desk, craning her back to her impressive full height.

“But, um, I’m not from around here.” I’m from a few blocks away. “Since I’m like, foreign? So maybe this is how they do school here in Japan.” She nods as if she’s made a great observation.

A male voice interrupts: “I don’t think so… but it would make sense for a foreigner to think as such.”

Mariana swivels in her chair. To her relief, the boy who spoke seems almost normal. He wears his gakuran straight up-and-down without any modifications. He looks down to Mariana from behind simple glasses. His long black hair is brushed neatly out of his face.

“Oh, like, I’m so sorry! That’s so rude of me! I didn’t even notice more people were here!” Mariana tries to stand up so she could bow in apology, but her legs feel weak. It’s almost as if she hasn’t walked on them in ages. But she just walked into school, didn’t she?

Right?

“Take it slow. I also felt peculiar upon waking up.” The boy crosses his arms, making no move to help Mariana. She stabilizes herself by resting against the desk until her legs stop shaking. “It is as if we have been unconscious for some time… heh.”

The strange snort-laugh at the end of his sentence makes Mariana quirk a brow. It’s like he’s trying to speak formally and casually at the same time. “Oh, like, I see. I thought we just, um, got here?” she says.

“I thought so as well. However, I’m afraid it’s impossible to tell.”

The boy uses a crutch to move to the wall. His motion with his leg brace and the crutch is practiced and fluid. Mariana doesn’t have much time to focus on that before she sees what he’s gesturing to. Her eyes have fully adjusted to the dim light, revealing a part of why it’s so dark— the windows have been completely covered by bolted-on sheets of metal.

“Oh! Are those typhoon windows?” the tall girl asks. “Wow! Great to know our school is prepared for any kind of weather!”

“I, um…” Mariana speaks up, but can’t find it in her to contradict the other girl.

Fortunately, the other apparent native-born Japanese person does it for her. “Typhoon windows, as the name implies, would still allow one to see outside… heh. This is more like we’ve been locked into a prison.”

“Locked in?” Mariana scrunches a brow. The tall girl tries to as well, but has no brows. “But, like… I think I saw windows when I was walking in?”

“I assume that’s the extent of your memory as well. Our minds are blank from the time we entered the building to the time we awoke in this classroom… how… fascinating.” The boy covers his mouth with a hand, but Mariana sees a smile in his eyes. “Furthermore, our personal belongings are missing… fortunately, whoever did this to us left me with my mobility device.”

“Oh, your walking stick thingamajig?” the tall girl asks.

“My crutch, yes…” The boy manages to regain control of his facial expression, bringing it back to stoic.

Mariana finally feels like she can stand up again without needing to support herself. Although her body feels fine again, her mind is reeling. ‘Game show’ is the best-case scenario at this point. At worst, they’re in the clutches of some kind of murderer or pervert.

Just as the thought crosses her mind, the school’s intercom beeps to life.

_Ding, dong, ding, dong!_

“Attention, attention!” says the voice over the intercom. It sounds just like a lovable cartoon mascot-- or, judging by the sinister undertone, more like something wearing the skin of a lovable cartoon mascot. “All new students, gather in the gymnasium for your orientation! Upupu… don’t you act like you don’t know where it is! The punishment for not attending will be severe!”

With that, the intercom clicks and the message is over.

“Ah!” The tall girl positions herself as if at the starting line of a race. “I’m late! I can’t be late! Here I go!” And she takes off like a bullet, running out the door into the hallway.

“Oh… but I actually don’t know where the gymnasium is,” Mariana muses. She looks over to the boy. “Um… I’m sorry to impose, but could you be so kind as to guide me…?”

He studies her before responding. “Yes… I could offer my assistance. This is a typical school, presumably, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

Mariana breathes a sigh of relief as they walk into the hallway. At least they weren’t locked into just one classroom. But what was the scope of this place? The Ultimate Branch’s building on the Future Point Campus looked massive from the outside. Could they go outside?

She’s tempted to dash for the front door, but that creepy voice said there would be ‘severe’ punishment for not going to the gymnasium. Plus, if she ran off, she’d leave her new friend behind.

“Oh, how rude of me… I didn’t share my name. I know we’re going to orientation to introduce ourselves, but still!” Mariana says. She poses a little. “Mariana Lima, the Ultimate Model! Nice to meet you!”

The boy looks her up and down for a moment before meeting her eyes again. “Heh… Souta Igaku… Ultimate Surgeon. Charmed.”

\---

Despite Souta’s ease with the crutch and leg brace, they still move slow. Mariana holds open the door to the gymnasium and finds that they’re the last to arrive.

She looks at the small crowd that’s gathered. They’re all presumably Ultimate students as well, all about the same age as her. Other than that, almost nothing seems to tie these people together. One boy is as tall and strong as a mountain with the face of an oni. Another boy stands half his height dressed in a full jester costume. Then there’s a girl— no, a wooden mannequin of some kind, with ball joints and a mouth like a Nutcracker. The list goes on.

Overwhelmed by the freak show, Mariana focuses on the kanji above the door that she can easily read. “So that says gym-nas-ium? Wow! Thank you so much, Souta!” she says, clapping her hands together.

“Right…” Souta apparently is just as confused as she is.

They exchange a look. “Do you know any of them already?” Mariana whispers.

“Do I look like I work in a circus?” he spits.

“Oh! Me! Me!” the tall girl bounces on her heels and waves her arm. She’s easily taller than everyone, but the oni-like boy is a close second. “You know me, right?”

“Um, yeah! Totally!” Mariana says. No, not at all, she thinks.

“Fifteen,” says a boy in the crowd. A gold sash intersects his gakuran. Long locks of wavy blue hair flow out from under his tiara. “If memory serves, that’s the average class size here. We must all be in attendance.”

“Hey! What the fuck was that about a circus?” A sukeban steps up and grabs Souta by the collar. “Busted leg or not, I’ll bust those glasses right now, four-eyes!”

“Oh… heh… I’m being assaulted,” Souta says, casually. “If you must hit me… make it somewhere other than the face… I’ve lost my other pair of spectacles…”

The vibes are just odd enough that the sukeban drops him. “Fuck, I feel like I’ve gotta wash my hand after that shit,” she says. “Just watch your goddamn mouth.”

“Yes,” says a girl wearing a hospital mask. “We wouldn’t want any foul or cruel language, would we?”

“That’s fuckin’ right,” says the sukeban.

“Boy howdy, this place is more of a circus than I could’ve hoped for,” the jester says. “Did I stumble into clown college, or is this really Future Point?”

“I’m positive this is Future Point Academy,” says the blue-haired boy in the tiara. “It’s only natural we would all be disoriented. There’s no need to cause trouble for one another, now.”

His smile is more plastic than all the models Mariana’s ever met combined. Just seeing it makes her feel like she was thrown into a blizzard. She smooths out her arms to prevent her hair from standing up in fear.

The sukeban just snorts. “Regular Prince Charming here, huh?”

“He’s right.” The oni boy’s baritone voice sends tremors through the ground. “We must not cause harm to one another. We may be in a dangerous situation.”

“Uh, yeah! Like school!” says a girl with a pink bob cut. “Booooring!”

“But what if it only looks like school?” another girl says, furiously writing into a small notebook. She speaks her next sentence into a cassette voice recorder. “What if we’re involved in a government conspiracy?”

“No way!” the sukeban says. “Damn that George Bush! First 7/11, now this?!”

“You mean 9/11?” says a chubby boy with thick-rimmed glasses.

“Who the hell is George Bush?” the jester asks.

“Uh, how do you still have those things? The notebook and recorder,” asks a boy who hasn’t spoken yet. He’s covered head to toe in freckles. Mariana would find him cute if she weren’t trying to hold back panic. “Everything I was carrying went missing when I woke up…”

“Easy peasy!” says the girl, putting away her cassette recorder into one of her many vest pockets. She runs a hand through her red bowl cut. “I had them in my secret pocket! Only girls have them!”

“Your what?” asks the girl with the hospital mask, appalled.

“You know…” she leans in conspiratorially. “Panties.”

“Hey, dudes wear underwear! Unless they’re going commando!” says the boy in thick-rimmed glasses.

“What?!” the girl with the notebook and recorder gasps. “Boys wear panties too?!”

“Something tells me that pretty boy over here does.” The sukeban jabs the beautiful blue-haired boy in the ribs. “Hah!”

Some students chuckle, including the blue-haired boy himself. Mariana forces herself to look away.

There are only two students who haven’t spoken yet. Three, if counting the wooden doll. The first is a girl with a long white braid and nearly opaque, spiral-esque glasses. The second is a boy with striking blond hair and angular features. They’re standing next to one another, but it doesn’t appear to be because of any particular choice. If anything, they seem to be actively not looking at one another. Odd.

Stage lights come to life, cutting the chatter short. The lights illuminate nothing but an empty podium at first— but then a trapdoor opens and a black-and-white stuffed bear jumps out. It takes its place at the podium.

“Goooood morning!” the bear says. It’s the same cute and creepy voice from over the intercom. He’s split down the middle; on one half, pure white and a happy face. On the other, pure black with a jagged red eye and a twisted smirk. “I am Monokuma, your Headmaster! Stand and bow!”

A few students bow. Mariana, in her usual fashion, goes with the flow and bows as well. Souta is the first to openly address the elephant- or bear- in the room. “What is that thing?”

“How rude!” Monokuma says. “I just said, I’m your Headmaster!”

“Adorable!” Mariana claps her hands together. She’s starting to feel slightly relieved-- maybe this is a game show. “I knew that everything in Japan has a mascot! So this is the mascot of Future Point? Cuuuute!”

“Waaah! I wanna own one!” says the girl with all the vest pockets. She reaches into a pocket but finds it empty, scowling. “Ugh… need to take a picture…!”

“So it’s a talking doll?” says the boy in thick-rimmed glasses. “Awesome!”

“No.” The life-size wooden doll speaks, causing everyone to turn to it. It speaks again in its feminine voice: “This is no doll. I am familiar with many other dolls. This appears to be something… different.”

“That’s right! Guess it takes one to know one!” Monokuma giggles. “I’m not a doll, I’m not a mascot! I’m your true-blue Headmaster! And I’ll remain your Headmaster throughout the duration of this killing game!”

Up until then, Mariana had been trying to repress a shudder. Now a full-on chill runs down her spine. It’s like all the air had been sucked out of the room.

At least, until the boy with thick glasses starts laughing. “Give me a break! Killing game? Is this supposed to be _Battle Royale_ or something?”

“Oh, it was a joke,” says the girl with pink hair. She starts laughing. “Whew! You almost got me there! Too bad I’m too smart for that kind of joke!”

“If it was a joke, it sure did blow,” the jester says.

“Good thing it isn’t one.” Monokuma has stopped his giggling and exaggerated motions. He stands perfectly still, surveying the students with his red eye. “As of today, you’re locked in to Future Point Academy’s Ultimate Branch and enrolled in the Killing School Life! Ah, memories… they say these are the best years of your life! And for most of you chumps, they’ll also be the last!”

“Fuck off,” the sukeban growls. “Locked in? Then I’ll bust the door off the fuckin’ hinges.” With that, she turns and stomps out.

Monokuma checks a watch that, for the gag, has appeared on his wrist. “Let’s give her a minute, shall we?”

It, in fact, is only thirty seconds until she sprints back in. “The front door, it’s… it’s this giant fuckin’ vault with machine guns and shit!”

The students are silent. Mariana looks around to see a wave of grim faces. Monokuma giggles with delight as the reality of their situation begins to set in.

“Thaaaaaat’s right! And for you visual learners…”

A massive TV screen lowers behind Monokuma. It picks up feed from one of the security cameras. Mariana shudders as the image focuses on a large vault door in the entrance hall, so huge that an 18-wheeler truck could drive through it. Several mounted machine guns are attached to the wall around it.

“Wh-what?” gasps the boy with the blue hair and tiara. “None of us… remember such a thing upon entering the school?”

Nobody answers. He adds: “I assumed not. Then… how? How is this possible?”

The girl with the white braid speaks up. “Furthermore… you truly expect us to kill one another in here? For what reason? Do you expect ‘cabin fever’ to set in? Claustrophobia?”

Monokuma laughs. “They wouldn’t be unexpected side effects! But I know you lazy kids need a motive to do anything or you won’t get off your ‘smart phones’ and ‘streaming devices’.”

“Except you stole them, didn’t you?” the jester says, tapping his finger to his temple.

“Yep! So there won’t be any calling for help!” he giggles. “Even if you did have them, help wouldn’t come… but, let’s just get them out of the way! Anyway— the reason you’ll be killing one another is to escape the school!”

“What?!” gasps the freckled boy. “You think we’ll just commit murder to get out?! You can’t force us!”

“You’re right. What a stupid idea. None of you have to do anything you don’t want to. Forcing a knife into one of your hands would just be boring,” Monokuma sighs. “In fact, why would you want to leave? This branch of the school was designed to have everything you could ever want to live here indefinitely. You all have materials here to practice your talents to your heart’s content. I’ll see to it that food and water never runs out, too.”

“But we can never leave unless we kill. We’re effectively prisoners,” says the oni-faced boy.

“I see… he’s already sewn the seeds of doubt,” says the girl with the white braid. “Even if we all think, rationally, we would never kill anyone… we can’t shake the thought from our mind now that it’s been planted there… that one of us might kill. He expects that paranoia to grow, and grow, until…”

“Stop! I don’t even want to think of it!” cries the girl in the hospital mask.

“Maybe it’s… some kind of test,” says the freckled boy. “This is the Ultimate Branch, right? Maybe they’re doing something extreme.”

“It isn’t a game show?” asks the extremely tall girl. “This seems like something weird for the TV, right?!”

“It had better not be… I wasn’t informed,” Souta says with a scowl.

Mariana feels unsure what to believe. If they really need to kill each other, that’s horrifying. If it’s a prank show, her manager will kill her if she doesn’t keep the act up for the camera. Not revealing any of her inner thoughts, she puts on a big smile. “We’ll just, like, have fun until they give up! It will make for boring TV, won’t it?”

“TV? Who watches TV these days anymore?” Monokuma scoffs.

“But, all the security cameras—” says the girl with the vest.

The image on the large screen behind Monokuma changes from the vault door to other parts of the school from every conceivable angle. “Don’t you worry. This is just for me. It might look like old Headmaster Monokuma only has two eyes, but I can actually see you no matter where you are in the school at any time!”

“Even the bathroom?” squeaks the boy with thick glasses.

Just to taunt him, Monokuma switches the image one last time to what Mariana assumes is the bathroom of a dorm. “You know it! Some of the best murders happen here!”

“Fuckin’ gross,” the sukeban says.

“Are you starting to get it?” Monokuma says. “I know you kids are really dumb, so listen close! You’re locked in. You can live here forever… but all you need to do to escape to your past lives and your loved ones is to kill!”

He continues his taunting. Mariana tunes it out, possibilities running through her mind. So they were clearly trapped by some kind of maniac serial killer. But Future Point Academy was about as heavily guarded as the Imperial Palace, and had way more publicity. News channels tripped over themselves to do a story about Future Point. The world had to be buzzing about this, right? The police had to be on their way.

She wants to voice the possibility, but she holds back. It’s better to play dumb for now. Monokuma will only taunt her, anyway. In fact, Monokuma is still spewing insults to the class when the blond boy begins walking up to the stage. It starts slow before he breaks into a stride, then a sprint.

“Hey!” Mariana screams. She leaps forward to try and grab the idiot, but he pries himself out of her grip and shoves her back. The boy with the freckles catches her before she falls. She can’t turn and thank him because the blond has throttled Monokuma by its fuzzy neck.

“Hey! Let me go!” Monokuma shouts, swinging his stubby limbs. “Violence against the Headmaster is against the rules!”

The blond doesn’t speak, only tightening his grip. He wears black leather gloves, but Mariana can make out his knuckles tensing so hard they’re about to pop. The furry flesh was beginning to give way. He was going to rip its head clean off.

_Beep, beep, beep, beep--_

“Drop it, now!” Mariana screeches.

“It’s going to blow!” Souta yells.

_**Beepbeepbeepbeep--** _

The students scream. The blond narrows his eyes and spits on Monokuma. Mariana’s mad at the bear, but this boy carries some kind of deep-set revulsion toward it. Just as the beeping reaches a fever pitch, he rears back and chucks Monokuma into the massive screen.

The explosion rattles the gymnasium. The bleachers tucked against the wall quake and the spotlights die. Glass rains down behind the blond as he turns to address the students. Through ringing ears, Mariana can hear him speak: “We’re going. We’re not doing this again.”

_Again?_ Mariana thinks, but she can’t find her voice. She grabs his gloved hand and pulls him down from the stage. She sputters for a moment before she jabs him in the chest with a fingernail. “Do you even know how dangerous that was?!” she yells, instead. “You could’ve been killed! I don’t even know your name yet!”

He shoves her back again and her blood boils. “Don’t touch me,” he snarls. “With any luck, you won’t have to know me.”

“You…” Mariana seethes, but bites her tongue hard. She can’t. Deep breaths. “Like, you’re right, we need to get out of here.” Ugh, it hurts to bite back her words. But now he’s the big hero and she’s the bitch.

“You said ‘again’,” says the blue-haired boy. “What do you know that we do not?”

“I know less than you.” The crowd parts as the blond boy stomps through in the direction of the door. “I can’t even remember my Ultimate talent. What I do know is that this isn’t a game or a show or a test. I don’t know how long we’ve been unconscious that he could install the vault door or the cameras, but there has to be another way out—”

A second explosion slices the air in half. In the blink of an eye, two things have changed. Monokuma has reappeared at the podium and the blond boy is splayed on the floor. Mariana catches a flash of a mounted gun retract into a hidden panel in the ceiling.

“Nice try! I can’t believe you managed to break the School Rules before I even put them into place!” Monokuma laughs. “Too bad I don’t give passes on technicalities!”

The blond manages to pick up his head. He touches his hand to his chest. The black glove comes back soaking wet with blood. And it’s as if only then the pain hits and causes him to scream.

The students panic. Mariana kneels by the blond student’s side. “Someone help him! Souta, you’re the Ultimate Surgeon, aren’t you?”

Her voice causes him to snap into focus. He examines the wound closer. “It would be a miracle if this didn’t pierce his heart— I don’t have any equipment,” Souta says, gritting his teeth.

Monokuma hops off of the podium and strolls over to the blond. He lifts up the blond’s head by his neck. “Too bad I’m not letting you get off the hook that easy. Everyone deserves a second chance, don’t you think?” He presses a hand to Akira’s mouth. “Don’t answer. I know you do.”

As if just to show off his numbers, Monokuma snaps his fingers and two duplicate Monokuma come rushing in with a stretcher. They pile Akira onto it and run him out of the room. All that’s left to know this just happened is the pool of blood and the ringing in their ears.

“He needs real help, not some lame gimmick,” Mariana says, her voice getting weaker with each word. What can she do? She’s just a model. She never expected to end up in a situation like this. If the Ultimate Surgeon couldn’t save him, who could? If Monokuma really could work miracles, then maybe.

“So this… this is real,” Souta says, raising up a hand. It’s bloodied from examining the blond student.

“It’s deathly real,” Monokuma says. “In fact, I know for a fact that one of you is plotting a murder right now.”

“You’re wrong!” shouts the freckled boy. “You’re the only one who would attack us!”

“He did it first!” Monokuma whines, like a child. “I’d better cut this short and save that idiot’s life. I’ll need a volunteer from the class to hand out presents. Anyone?”

A silent moment passes. “Or you can stay quiet and let him bleed out! The longer you wait, the longer it takes for me to go save his life!” Monokuma chirps.

Finally, the blue-haired boy adjusts his tiara and raises his hand. “I volunteer, so long as the ‘gifts’ aren’t deadly or harmful in any way.”

“Not unless you consider technology to be the death of today’s youth! I felt bad for taking your phones, so I made you guys a replacement!” Monokuma says. He produces a box full of what look to be tablets. “They’re unmarked, but once you all get one, it will automatically register to you! Buh-bye!”

With that, Monokuma somehow vanishes. The blue-haired boy squints and picks up a tablet. True to Monokuma’s word, the screen flashes to life and reads:  
  
SETTING UP MONOPAD…  
  
USER: YUSUKE ODA  
  
TALENT: ULTIMATE STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT

The boy- Yusuke, apparently- combs his fingers through his hair. “Well, then. I’ll assist in distributing these. I assume that he wouldn’t have asked me to do so if it would register each one to me upon my picking it up.”

“I’ll grab my own,” Mariana quickly says, picking up her own tablet.

SETTING UP MONOPAD…

USER: MARIANA LIMA

TALENT: ULTIMATE MODEL

She smiles sweetly. “I just, like, wouldn’t want to cause a hassle for anyone, you know?”

Yusuke laughs politely. “Of course not. You couldn’t be a burden to me.”

He sounds exactly like her ex. A student council president, too? He might as well have grown horns and pulled out a pitchfork.

Yusuke is able to hand out tablets to everyone, who are in various states of shock. Mariana sighs as her tablet continues to boot up. At least she has some piece of technology. Even though Monokuma likely modified it so it couldn’t connect to the Internet so she couldn’t call for help, it was something to work with. But she didn’t think she’s going to do this alone.

“Don’t let him get to your head,” she says, addressing the students. “I don’t care what that thing has to say. When people… when people are in tough situations, they bond. They don’t break apart. That only happens in movies.”

“Yeah… like… _Battle Royale_ ,” mutters the boy with thick glasses, cracking a miserable smile. “Where everyone kills each other.”

Mariana puts her hands on her hips. “Is that so? Then I invite someone to kill me right now. Any one of you could kill me. But you won’t, because we’re not made for murder.”

Nobody speaks for a long moment. Finally, the freckled boy stands next to her. “She’s right. Monokuma wants us to be paranoid. If we let that happen, he wins. We’re only going to get out of this by trusting each other.”

“We were supposed to be summoned here for introductions,” says the tall, oni-faced boy. “Perhaps that could be the first step to building trust.”

“That seems a wonderful idea, but this may not be the best place,” Yusuke says, nodding at the blood. The acrid scent seeps into the air. “My tablet- or ‘Monopad’- has already loaded. There is a map of the first floor. Perhaps we could speak in the cafeteria nearby?”

“Tch… if that’s what we’ve gotta do. But then we’re gonna work on bustin’ outta here, right?” asks the sukeban.

The girl tugs on her hospital mask. “Right. Without killing.”

\---

Mariana sticks close to the freckled boy who kept coming to her aid. She’s all smiles on the outside, but on the inside, her mind is whirring like a machine.

She’ll need allies to survive this and he seems like a good place to start. It’ll be good to have the surgeon on her side as well in case she’s injured. The more distance she can keep between herself and Yusuke, the better. Already, people are orbiting him.

“Right, then,” Yusuke says. “Allow me to start. I’m Yusuke Oda, the Ultimate Student Council President.” He gives a gentle laugh, covering his mouth politely. “Please, I ask for no untoward assumptions. I wish to earn everyone’s respect through my actions, not because of this title I was bestowed. I hope we can all get along.”

Mariana decides to get her introduction out before she pukes. “ _Ola!_ I’m Mariana Lima, the Ultimate Model! Even if it’s in this weird situation, I’m so excited to meet you all!” She bows deeply. “Um, I’m not from around here, so please take good care of me!”

“I’ll go next!” the tall girl says. “I’m Chuya Takahashi! I’m the Ultimate Sprinter! A year ago, I helped my track team win a regional contest, and…” She freezes up seeing Yusuke turn his attention to her. “Uh… that’s why I was scouted… yeah! I’m pleased to meet you all! Let’s get along!”

Everyone continues in order, as if they were introducing themselves in a normal class setting.

“I’m Kokoro Meiru, the Ultimate Psychologist… ehehe.” The girl with the white braid can’t help but add on a weird chuckle. She adjusts her over-sized glasses. “A pleasure…”

Mariana pays particular attention as the freckled boy stands up. “My name is Meijin Gyokusho, and I’m the Ultimate Lifetime Ryuuou-- which is, um, basically a shogi master. I won five national tournaments in a row to earn the title, and so I was scouted. It’s nice to meet you all.”

The boy with the thick glasses stands up, his voice booming. “TOUMA WATANABE! Ultimate Rakugoka! Bada bing, bada boom! Let’s get along well this school year, or however long we’re in this hellscape, huh?”

There comes a pause as it becomes the life-size wooden doll’s turn. Up until now, she’s walked autonomously and even spoken, but now she’s still. Finally, she stands as if being pulled by marionette strings and clasps her hands in front of her. “I am called Hinako. If you wish to refer to me using a surname, it is Nodomo. I have borrowed the name from my creator with her permission. I am known as the Ultimate Doll. Thank you for allowing a humble thing such as myself to be considered a member of your class.”

“Is this chick for real?” the jester whispers way too loudly.

“I am a doll, not a chicken,” Hinako says. She sits down mechanically and folds her hands in her lap.

The girl with the pink bob cut springs up. “Yoohoo! I’m Yuko Koibumi, and I love mail! And the fe-mail I love is my girlfriend and I love her more than anything ever! And I love writing letters and delivering letters, ‘cause I’m the Ultimate Postmastress and all! Nice to meet you all!!”

How open. Mariana thinks she’s either really that innocent or it’s an act.

The massive boy with the scary oni-like face stands. “Hello. I am honored to meet you all. I am Nunosuke Migurushi. I have been awarded the title, Ultimate Clothier. I have been recognized for my creations several times.”

“Oh, I know you!” Mariana says. “You made the Migurushi Collection, right? It was featured in its own fashion show!”

He nods. “I am pleased to meet someone familiar with my work. It must only be natural for the Ultimate Model. Thank you for your kindness.”

“Oh yeah, like, your clothes are super cool,” Mariana says. She admittedly didn’t think he would look so intimidating, but he seems like a gentle giant. Maybe she could get on his good side. “Let’s talk sometime!”

Nunosuke nods and sits down. For all his weight, he’s able to move incredibly gently.

The next one to speak is the girl in the hospital mask. “Er… I… I’m called Reiko Mukami,” she whispers. Mariana strains her ears to hear her. “I’m… the Ultimate Shrine Maiden. I… come from the countryside, so I am not used to the ways of the big city. I appreciate everyone’s patience with me.”

The sukeban doesn’t sit up. She leans back in her chair, having kicked her feet up on a table. “Ahoki Warimari. Don’t fuck with me and I won’t fuck with you.”

“Yes, and what is your talent?” Yusuke asks.

“What’s it to you, pretty boy?” she snorts. “Fuck off.”

“It says on the Monopad that you’re the Ultimate Hostess, no?” the jester says with a wink. “Looks like it has some ‘student profiles’ already!”

Hostess? Mariana thinks. She would’ve expected a beautiful girl in a cocktail dress, not a sukeban decked out with ace bandages and a leather jacket.

Ahoki rolls her eyes. “Then why don’t you read that shit off for me so I can take a break?”

“I sure will!” the jester sings. “Ahoki Warimari, Ultimate Hostess! She’s been the top-ranked girl at the Velvet Eye Hostess Club for years! Birthday is July 24th, and her favorite drink is seltzer water, and her chest size is—”

He barely dodges a metal napkin holder that sails past his head. “Next time, fucker, it’s gonna be a knife,” she warns.

“You asked me to read it for you!” the jester says. He pulls out a drama mask of the ‘tragedy’ face. “You heard that, didn’t you? I can’t believe ladies are so fickle!”

“I can’t either,” the mask says. So a ventriloquist, Mariana thinks. Great.

“You could always introduce yourself next,” Meijin offers.

“Okie-dokie! How can I say no?” the jester says. “My name is Bimbo the Clown and I’m the Ultimate Murderer! I’m gonna kill every last one of you!”

“Nooo! Get him away from me!” Chuya shrieks.

“It says right here that you’re the Ultimate Jester, no?” Yusuke says. “Worry not, Chuya, he’s simply playing with us.”

“Fine, fine… it’s no fun when someone else reads the student profiles!” he whines. “Anyway, I’m Morihimo Ashimo! Nice to meetcha!”

The small girl with the vest speaks up next. “I’m Kuro Shiroaka!” She tries to smooth out her bowl cut. “I’m the Ultimate Paranormal Journalist! Bigfoot is real and I saw him behind 7/11 at 3 AM!” She laughs. “Just kidding, he was behind Family Mart. I got a super good picture of him so I got admitted here!”

“Excellent, thank you,” Yusuke says. “Was that everyone?”

Mariana blinks. “Wait, we’re missing Souta.”

“Souta?” Meijin asks.

“The Ultimate Surgeon… he was with me when we walked into the gym.” Mariana looks around, but doesn’t see a trace of him.

As if on cue, the cafeteria door opens. Souta walks in, but he’s changed. The difference is as striking as each half of Monokuma. From where he had clear skin, he’s riddled with piercings. His black hair has been set free to reveal white streaks. He’s replaced his clear frame glasses with pink-lensed ones. A lab coat has been added to his ensemble. Strikingly, some kind of prosthetic horn protrudes from his forehead.

“Heh…” Souta bows. “Sorry I’m late. If we’re truly stuck in here… then I have no reason not to reveal my true self… I don’t want to hide it if we’re all to be on the same page.” He runs a bony finger along a line of piercings that are made to look like stitches. “This is the real me… the Ultimate Surgeon, Souta Igaku.”

Reiko slams her hands on the table. “Despicable. Why would you desecrate your body like that? Are you yakuza?”

“Kick-ass!” Ahoki cheers.

“Shit, I thought I was the biggest clown here,” Morihimo sighs.

Souta tugs at the collar of his shirt, apparently embarrassed. “I assure you I have no… unprofessional connections such as that. This is my means of self-expression…”

Some students shifted uncomfortably in their seats; others chuckled or whispered to one another. Mariana wouldn’t pretend that she was into his appearance, but she had been shamed all her life for the way she looked. Body modifications were a choice and her skin color wasn’t, but her point still stood-- they shouldn’t reject him for this.

Plus, she had already decided that he would be her ally. She stands. “Souta, over here! Come sit with me!”

He raises his eyebrows in surprise and limps over to her table. He sits down with a bit of effort. “Thanks, Mariana… heh.”

“No prob! Like, you totally changed!” she says. “I love your style! If you need help taking out your piercings to clean them, let me know! I bet you must have a lot in hard to reach places.”

“I will… I will remember the offer. Nobody has been so kind to me… heh.” He stares at her for a moment too long.

“I’m glad you were able to join us,” Yusuke says, unshaken. “We just finished our introductions. We’ve discovered that student profiles can be found on the tablets- also known as ‘Monopads’- we received. Therefore, you shouldn’t be too far out of the loop.” He turns to address the crowd overall. “If anyone has anything they need, I will always be available to help.”

“That’s so reliable,” Chuya gasps. “People usually just ask me to help them reach the top shelf!”

“People usually ask me to finish their leftovers,” Touma laughs, slapping his belly.

“We’re gettin’ off track,” Ahoki snorts. She stands, kicking her chair out behind her. “Now we’re all buddy-buddy n’ shit, we gotta find a way out of here that doesn’t involve our brains getting splattered on the wall by that weird door.”

“Right. We also have these maps of the first floor,” Meijin speaks up. “How about we all search around and meet up again later? Then we can share what we found.” 

“Okay! I’m super duper good at finding stuff I’m not s’posed to!” Kuro says. She’s put on a headband that represents a pair of wolf ears and attached a wolf tail to her skirt. She shrugs. “What? We’re expressin’ ourselves, right?”

“Anyone else have anything fuckin’ weird to wear?” Ahoki asks.

“I see no difference! You were all freaks anyway!” says the jester.

She rolls her eyes, ignoring him. “Right. Okay. Let’s do this.”

\---

A list of school rules had been added to the Monopad. Any student could access them at any time. They read, in order:

  1. Students will remain inside Future Point Academy for the foreseeable future. Leaving is unacceptable.
  2. "Nighttime" is officially designated as the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. During this time, certain areas of the school are closed. Please exercise caution.
  3. All acts of violence toward Monokuma, the headmaster of Future Point Academy, are strictly prohibited.
  4. Destruction of school property, including surveillance cameras, is prohibited.
  5. Monokuma will never directly participate in a murder.
  6. Your Monopads are very important items. Make sure you do not damage them.
  7. Students may explore Future Point Academy as they see fit.
  8. A body discovery announcement will occur when three or more students discover a body.
  9. The Headmaster may add to or modify the school rules at any time.



The list of student profiles had been updated as well. 15 profiles are available in total-- Mariana, Souta, Meijin, the list went on. At the end is a student who hadn’t a chance to introduce himself. His profile picture shows him staring onward with his thick eyeliner and grey bags underneath his eyes. His haphazard blond hair is brushed to the side to the best he could. At what other people might find interesting, he regards with a stare unperturbed.

The name reads: “AKIRA KOMURA.” And, true to his word, his title is: “ULTIMATE ???”.

\---

Chuya hadn’t been sure where to start. Even just the first floor feels so enormous compared to her old school. And isn’t this only one Branch of the school?

When she tries to recall more details, her mind feels hazy. That’s odd… she’s pretty sure she knew more about it when she came into the school. She supposes nothing feels exactly normal right now.

After walking a quick loop of the hallways, she finds herself again at the front door. The vault door remains in place, foreboding with its machine guns. Not a trickle of sunlight makes it through the thick steel.

Even if she could look at it closer, she wouldn’t dare try with guns like that pointed right at her. She had never seen a weapon like that up close. A small, naive part of her mind wants to believe still this is some kind of insane, over-the-top prank. Even though she knows that belief was misguided, she feels like it was one of the few things keeping her going right now.

She looks around. There’s shoe racks nearby, but they’re all empty. It’s almost like a cruel joke, as if there’s supposed to be dozens of students and not just 15, or as if there could be visitors. (Forever? Trapped in here forever? No, there is a way out, her mind tells her, and she ignores it.)

Chuya shakes her head. Not far from the vault door on the other side is some kind of welcome center. Future Point didn’t really get visitors, but she supposes that the few who were allowed in would need the luxury experience. She walks in to find a front desk stacked with pamphlets.

She’s so far removed that she thinks at first that the person already inside investigating is part of the scenery. When he speaks up, she jumps.

“Wah! Who’s there?!”

Yusuke holds up his hands in mock-surrender. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to startle you. I understand completely how our situation would put a beautiful lady such as yourself on edge.”

Chuya’s heart is still pounding. “Beautiful… what?”

“Oh, so bold of me.” Yusuke twirls a lock of his wavy blue hair around a fingertip. Chuya can’t help but notice he wears white silk gloves, too. It’s like he’s a Prince that stepped out of a storybook. “I couldn’t help but notice your long legs. Why, you’re like a model. I bet you could easily cross great distances in just a few strides-- its no wonder you’re the Ultimate Sprinter!”

She tugs at the collar of her shirt. Her face feels hot. “Ah… thank you… not many people comment on them…”

He raises a brow. “No? I can’t have been the first to admire your radiance.”

Chuya shifts on her feet. Her face is definitely red now. What is this? Nobody’s ever been so nice to her. It’s a little intoxicating.

In lieu of her giving a proper reply, Yusuke speaks up again. “I think it would be safer if we were to investigate together, no? I would protect you from any harm that could come your way. Every fair Princess needs a Knight, correct?”

She rubs her hands on her face. “Ah, but!! Wait, am I the Princess? You’re more like a Prince.”

He chuckles gently, as if he hadn’t been expecting that. He adjusts his tiara and the gold sash draped across his uniform. “Prince? My, I’m honored. But would that not place us on the same level?” He smiles. “Perhaps we should agree to protect one another. I know that you’re more than trustworthy, aren’t you?”

“Yes! I am! Way more!” Chuya says, pumping her fists. “I’ll protect you, Yusuke! I won’t let that stupid bear hurt you!”

“Excellent. It’s a promise,” he says, placing his hand over his heart. “Let us begin our partnership by investigating for an exit together.”

It sounds like the most brilliant idea in the world and not what she had been doing before he spoke to her. “Right! Got it!” she says.

Still, a few minutes have to pass before she can stop her head from spinning. Boys only looked at her like that to make fun of her. One boy said he could love her ‘despite’ her long legs and arms- insulting in itself, but she could deal with it- but later it turned out he had been dared by his friends to ask her on a date. But Yusuke seems so sincere!

(When she turns away from him to look again at the front desk, she doesn’t notice his smile falter for the briefest moment.)

“Huh… these are brochures for Future Point… why would someone need to be convinced to come here if it’s invite-only?” Chuya thinks. “You got an invite too, right?”

“Yes, otherwise I wouldn’t have been accepted as Ultimate Student Council President.”

“Oh! Right! You’re so smart,” she giggles, but focuses back on the brochure.

It rambles on about things she already knew. If there’s any common thread between the Prime Minister, the top J-Pop idols, movie stars, astronauts, CEOs, etc., it was that they all graduated from Future Point Academy. The name is synonymous with ‘success’. When she got invited, Chuya was certain it was the end of her worries— not the beginning.

“It’s nothing new,” she admits, putting the pamphlet down.

“Troublesome.” He picks one up and turns it over in his hands. “Truly, you wouldn’t think such a pulchritudinous school would be a target for a Machiavellian scheme such as this.

“Uh-huh,” she agrees, as if she understood what any of that meant. “I mean, I just thought… when I came here, I wanted to use my talents for good. I thought maybe my sprinting could help people somehow, or I could inspire people… now I’m just stuck here.”

“But you’ve inspired me,” he says. “For that, I can not thank you enough.”

His smile reinvigorates her in a heartbeat. She mutters an overwhelmed reply before returning to her search. File cabinets rest in the room as well, but all of them are empty or just full of more pamphlets and promotional material-- she supposes that Monokuma wouldn’t make it too easy for them to find out important information.

She closes the filing cabinets and causes a thin layer of dust to be kicked up. Waving her hand, she coughs. Shouldn’t a place like this be kept clean? Wasn’t there an Ultimate Janitor or something?

“It does seem as if the only things that we’ll find are those that Monokuma will allow us to… how frustrating,” Yusuke laments. He tries to turn on an outdated desktop computer. It doesn’t respond even slightly.

“Right. It’s almost as if this place has been… abandoned?” Chuya says. “That would give Monokuma a lot of time to mess with things, like putting in that scary vault door… But it was the first day of school when we came here…?”

Yusuke frowns. “I’m afraid I don’t know how much we can trust what we believe to be fact.” He tries to open a drawer on the desk upon which the computer sits, but it’s stuck. “Ah, Chuya, could you assist me with this?”

“Right away!” she says. It barely budges. Chuya braces her foot against the edge of the desk. “Almost… got it…”

She leverages all the strength in her legs and yanks as hard as she can. The warm rush of success fills her as she feels the drawer pop open, but it’s replaced quickly by fear as she feels herself falling backward, and then joy and warmth as Yusuke catches her. It would have been romantic, if one of her long arms wasn’t bent as she flew backward, causing her to elbow Yusuke in the nose.

She stumbles back to her feet and turns around. Yusuke has a white glove held to his nose. When he pulls it back, it’s red and damp. “It’s nothing,” he says with a weak chuckle. “Truly, your strength is unmatched…”

And he says something more, but she can’t hear it. All she can focus on is the blood. When the blond boy was shot, he bled a lot, but it didn’t hit her the same. She didn’t cause that. She didn’t know him. But she did this. She did this to Yusuke. Images flash in her mind of a smaller boy and a shorter Chuya, the latter shoving the former hard into the pavement and pummeling him just to feel alive because of the pain in her fists.

“--huya? Chuya? Are you alright?” Yusuke is saying.

“I-- I--” She stumbles back into the desk, then quickly runs around it. “I wasn’t careful-- I wasn’t thinking-- I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” she screams, running completely out of the room.

He reaches out with his bloodstained glove as he watches her go. “Chuya! Wait!” he yells, but cuts her protest short. She’s gone before he can even get all of her name out of his mouth.

His eyes lower to the now-open drawer. Yusuke peels off the bloodied glove and flexes his fingers. Gingerly, he reaches into the drawer and pulls out a file folder. His eyes widen slowly. Yusuke looks around, tucks the file under his arm, and shoves the drawer closed. He leaves the room.

\---

The other students all went in their own direction, but Mariana instead went into the kitchen attached to the cafeteria. It seems like the easiest place to sabotage; all it would take to kill someone is tampering with their food.

True to Monokuma’s word, Mariana finds the kitchen stocked full of fresh food. At least, it seems fresh. She supposes there’s only one way to know for sure. She grabs some kale and kiwis and begins to make a smoothie. The antioxidants would keep her skin clear through the stress, and if she died, at least it wouldn’t have been anyone else.

She presses the button and the ingredients begin to blend. She zones out as the fruit is beaten to a pulp. How could food be brought in if the school is completely sealed, like Monokuma claimed? Would it really be restocked? Maybe she was being too selfish even taking this much.

The noise had apparently disguised footsteps; someone taps her on the shoulder. Mariana jumps and spins around. It’s only Meijin, holding up his hands to show he means no harm. He’s just looking up at her with his little freckled face, barely reaching her boobs in terms of his height-- no threat at all. Cute, honestly. And are those hairclips trying to hold that mop of messy hair in place? She couldn’t focus on it before with all the chaos, but he did catch her when she fell in the gym. 

“Sorry! Sorry,” Meijin says. “I wasn’t trying to surprise you, I, um… I just wanted to know if you needed help. I really like the initiative you took in the gymnasium. I think it shows you have a really good, um, heart?”

Mariana laughs off her shock, tucking stray hair behind her ear. “No, no, I just… I don’t like fighting. It could tear people apart to get paranoid and start accusing one another falsely…” She pauses. Big words. Not good. “Um, I mean… did that make sense?”

He nods, but she’s not sure he really understands. He seems like he’s just another Japanese boy, too. The type who just looked the other way when girls like her were called sluts and whores because people assumed she didn’t speak Japanese. It was just easier to pretend to be stupid. Disposable.

“I just came in here to, um, test if the food is poisoned.” Mariana looks through the cabinets to find a glass to pour her smoothie into. “So I don’t need help, really, but thank you. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

She finds a glass and puts it on the counter. She reaches for the blender when Meijin stils her hand. “Let me test it,” he says. “I mean, I know you made this for yourself…” He trails off for a moment but regains his determination. “But you’re somebody, too. I don’t want you to get hurt.” 

He retracts his hand, as if his mind caught up with his actions. Her heart slams against her chest. Her fingertips tightly grasp the blender’s handle. She pours the smoothie with shaking hands.

“I can just… do this. I can. I don’t want to lose anyone.” Not again. Not to false accusations. Not to paranoia. “So I just have to do it.”

“You said you’d rather die than take part in the killing game, right?” Meijin says. “I feel the same way.”

“But, like… your talent is worthwhile,” she says, words escaping her.

He shakes his head earnestly. “No way! I just play shogi. I would think that, as a model, you inspire people. And you’ve proven you really care about everyone. I probably won’t be able to do as much as you, so... So please, let me try it first.”

“I can’t—”

“Please, let me—”

“No, I—”

Their exchange continues back and forth for a minute, debating on which of them should die, as the smoothie sits between them. Both of them get exasperated and reach for it, but their hands meet on the glass.

“Then at least let us try it together,” Meijin insists. “Either we live together and save the others or we both die. Either way, we won’t be playing the killing game.”

“Okay.” Mariana forces herself to catch her breath. This is fine. He’s just choosing to do this himself. She’s not doing anything wrong. A smile returns to her face. “Kind of like partners in crime, right?”

“Minus the ‘crime’ part,” Meijin says, also with a small smile. “Just partners, then?”

“Yeah. Partners.”

Mariana sips from the glass, and then Meijin drinks after her. The room is tense. They both await the inevitable.

Then Mariana takes another sip.

“Mm, it’s good,” she says.

Meijin shrugs and takes another sip. Mariana raises her eyebrows as he puts his lips on the glass where hers just were. “Yeah, it seems really healthy, too.”

“It’s my special smoothie recipe!” Mariana says. “Gotta stay fit for the job, y’know?”

“I suppose.” He starts chuckling, but then it breaks into mirthful laughter. “Jeez… we got really serious there for a minute, huh? I got really wrapped up if it could be poisoned or not…”

Mariana laughs, too. “Yeah, um… I guess all that stuff about partners in not-crime was silly, huh?”

“No, not at all.” Meijin smiles wider. “I think I’ve really come to trust you. Thank you, Mariana.”

Later on, Mariana would realize she was wrong. The smoothie had been deadly. In fact, at that precise moment, it felt like an arrow was shot straight through her heart.

\---

Organization. If there’s one thing Souta couldn’t live without, that’s it.

Although the human body would appear so chaotic upon dissection, it really is a marvel of organization. Everything, from bones to muscles to organs, have their place. Veins and cartilage are woven like the work of a master tailor. And even if someone were to lose a part- an eyeball, a lung, a limb- it would still work.

Simple machines would fall apart without a certain gear. The human body would adapt. The human body would grow stronger.

That’s why Souta came to Future Point Academy-- to continue his work in prosthetics. He turns that thought over in his mind, limping to the storage room. His leg brace is, at its best, troublesome and irritating. But he doesn’t mind. It represents so much more to him. It will represent his future success.

Future Point Academy hasn’t stopped being a school to him just because of the killing game. It’s still a learning opportunity. Souta’s in the business of curing, not killing-- but who knows what moral code the others lived by? Certainly not the Hippocratic Oath for everyone. Someone like Mariana could wring his neck like a pigeon’s.

Someone like Mariana… he gives an uneven smile, pushing open the storage room door.

He’s pleased to find such a well-organized room. A chain-link fence prohibits students from going into the labyrinth of shelving, but Souta notices a student using a computer terminal-- Ahoki, the Ultimate Hostess. (Not ‘Ultimate Sukeban’? He thinks that would be more fitting.)

As Ahoki orders something in the computer terminal, a large claw- as if from an arcade’s claw machine- comes to life. An elaborate system in the ceiling moves it to the precise location of what Souta assumes is her desired item. The claw picks up a crowbar and holds it in its grip. Then it glides over the chain-link fence and safely lowers it onto a delivery pad. Ahoki walks over and picks up her crowbar, smiling.

Souta’s breath hitches. Her teeth are sharpened, as if filed into shark-like points. The thought of Mariana fades from his mind.

“The fuck you staring at, Frankenfreak?” Ahoki snorts.

Frankenfreak? Souta looks around… oh, she must be referring to him. He must correct his staring habit one of these days. “Ah, I apologize… I was not trying to.” He adjusts his glasses. “Is that a crowbar…?”

“You fuckin’ know it.” She hefts it over her shoulder. “I could snap a twig like you over my knee, but I gotta keep an eye out for the others. You don’t seriously trust anyone in this shithole, do you?”

He shifts on his feet, but before he can answer, she adds: “Besides, I hatched a plan. If we smash all the Monokuma robots, then we can leave!”

The image of the blond boy bleeding on the ground flashes in his mind. Troublesome. He hadn’t been able to do anything, then. He must find medical supplies. “You recall what happened in the gymnasium.”

Ahoki snorts. “Yeah, but he wasn’t lookin’! If we just dodge the bullets, it’ll be no problem!”

Souta stares down at his feet. “... Thinking like that will get you hurt,” he mumbles. “I do trust you, although I shouldn’t. Perhaps you could extend me the favor?”

She squints at him, as if she’s trying to figure him out. Then she bursts into laughter. “Suuuure, you ‘trust’ me. Gimme a break! You look like you read obituaries like dating profiles!”

He continues to avoid her gaze. “I do not. But others avoid you because of your threatening looks, right? Things like that don’t bother me.” Her insults actually make him smile. She’s clever with words-- it’s beginning to make sense how she’s a hostess. “I admire your sharpened teeth. Who did that work for you?”

“I guess my looks wouldn’t bug you, freak of the week,” she laughs. “My teeth, though? I did it myself. I’m always, like, chewin’ on shit…” She spits out a wad of gum on the floor. “You ever finish a drink and think, there’s gotta be more to this shit! So I started chewin’ on metal seltzer cans, and now my teeth are like this.”

“How unorthodox… if you wish for a modification, I may be able to assist. It is much safer to have a professional do the work… heh.” He can’t hide the excitement from creeping into his voice. He plays with his multiple piercings and body mods. “I did these myself… besides the ones I cannot reach. But those are under my clothing… heh.”

“Well, I sure as fuck don’t wanna see those ones. But not half bad, I guess. I’m gonna pass on your offer. I think if you put me under the knife, I’m gonna wind up with four titties and a third eyeball or some shit.”

“No, not at all.” He smirks, not sure where to look. “I do not do modifications without explicit consent… that is just cruel. If you do want work done… come see me.”

“Uh-huh. I’ll keep it in mind,” she says, very much in the tone of someone who’s already forgotten. She taps her crowbar on the ground. “Hey, you think I could bust open the vault door with this shit?”

“Again, I would not recommend it due to the wall-mounted machine guns--”

“I just gotta be faster than the bullets!” Ahoki insists. “Or are you worried about me? Aww… cutesy wutesy. I guess the freak does have a heart. Maybe not his own, but still.”

Without warning, she slams the crowbar into the chain-link fence. It rattles hard. “Don’t get fuckin’ sappy on me. You can’t trust anyone in this world or you’re gonna get fucked over!” she says. “I ain’t gonna die and let you do my autopsy. But also, I don’t wanna scrape your sorry ass off the floor either. So watch your own ass and I’ll watch mine.”

Souta smiles, watching her for a moment. Her outburst didn’t cause him to so much as flinch-- something that seemingly infuriates and intrigues her. He finally speaks up again. “Do not worry about me… it is a doctor’s job to worry about his patients… heh.”

“Tch… whatever you say.” With that, she stomps out of the room.

\---

The rest of Mariana and Meijin’s investigation focuses on safety. It’s not that Mariana doesn’t believe there could be a way to just escape-- well, no. It is that. But she won’t voice that out loud; she doesn’t want to be the one to kill the group’s hope.

Regardless, Mariana’s learned to always be prepared. If she can handle her manager on a bad day, she can handle this. So checking the food is first, and then the quality of the water and air. As far as they can tell, the water is clean; as for the air, Mariana feels like it’s the same stale air being run continuously through a purifier, but she can’t confirm her suspicion.

The stairs to the second floor are blocked by solid iron bars. There’s an elevator as well, but nothing happens upon pressing the button.

Another notable thing they discover are that they were meant to be the 82nd Ultimate Class-- there are posters and notices welcoming their arrival.

“Has this happened before?” Meijin questions.

Mariana taps her nails together. “We would have had to have heard about it, right?”

“I suppose… this must be the first time,” Meijin says.

The police still haven’t come. Nobody has. It only serves to heighten Mariana’s dread-- there’s not going to just be an escape route, and there won’t be some knight in shining armor. She’s been through enough to know better than to hope for things like that.

They’ve found weapons as well. The only guns are wall-mounted and belong to Monokuma, presumably to keep them in line, but there are still ways to be creative if you wanted a weapon. The kitchen had been stocked with knives. The boiler room had stray pipes and tools that could be used as blunt instruments. Even with more innocuous things, Mariana can’t help but picture how someone would kill her with them. They could drown her in one of the bathroom’s wide sinks. They could crush her head on a school desk. They could even just pin her down and beat her to death with their bare hands.

“Are you feeling okay?” Meijin asks, out of the blue.

She jumps a little. Mariana puts her best smile back on. “Like, yeah! I’m fine! Let’s keep going!”

He hums. “... You know, I’ve won shogi games without losing any pieces.”

“Huuuuh? You have?”

“Yep. So I think I could do it again. It’s just like… a big game of shogi.” He almost seems to be trying to convince himself, but he has a confident smile on. It warms her heart-- he must be terrified, but he wants to calm her down. “I won’t let anyone die or hurt each other. I promise it.”

She really wants to believe it. For now, she just says: “that’s amazing! I, um, totally believe you!”

At least, it seems to calm him down. So it’s not that bad of a lie.

He doesn’t comment as they walk past the infirmary. The door is sealed shut with a red light lit up above that reads: “IN SURGERY.” She assumes the blond student- Akira- is in there, and hopefully alive.

When they return to the gymnasium, the blood is mysteriously absent. “Did Monokuma clean this up?” Meijin asks.

“Ummm… he must have, right? I don’t think one of us did it.”

He purses his lips in thought. “He could have just left it there to spook us… he’s rather particular about cleanliness as well as his rules.”

“Kind of like a real headmaster, right?”

“But he’s… a bear,” he says. Mariana can tell he almost called Monokuma a ‘stuffed bear’, but then he glanced nervously at one of the guns. “I wonder what happened to the real headmaster?”

“Oh, I wonder…” Mariana says. “Headmaster… Um…”

Why can’t she remember? Had she been that careless? Mariana did her research before coming to this school. At least, the look on Meijin’s face show he’s struggling with it as well.

“M-maybe we’re in shock, or affected by fatigue?” he suggests.

“Yeah, probably… that’s probably it.”

There’s not much else to inspect in the gymnasium except for sports equipment. Mariana holds a soccer ball in her hands wistfully. She can almost feel the warmth of the sun on her face and hear the cheers around her in the bleachers from the soccer game that her father took her to. She couldn’t remember the teams that were playing or any of the details, but she remembers the laughter and the monster-size soda that her dad bought her and the smile on his face when his team made a goal.

“Hey, there’s locker rooms back here,” Meijin points out.

“Oh!” Mariana drops the soccer ball as if it burned her hands and walks over. “I see… you don’t want to come into the women’s one with me, do you?” She winks.

“Ah…” His face heats up. “I thought I could look in the men’s one, and you could look in the women’s one…”

It stings in her chest that he’s going to leave her already. As if reading her mind, he adds: “Just for a bit! Then we can meet up again and share what we found!”

“Okay, sounds good!” Mariana says. She sticks her tongue out a little. “I won’t mind if you try and peek into the other locker room, though.”

His blush deepens and he hurries into the men’s locker room. Cute. She sashays into the locker room.

She wouldn’t have been surprised just to find someone else inside. She is surprised to find someone inside singing karaoke.

The sound echoes from the showers, but there’s no running water. Mariana makes her way over and finds Yuko, the Ultimate Postmaster (or Postmastress, as she screeched when finding out that her title was listed male-specific). She’s clothed, holding a shower head and singing into it like a microphone.

Once Yuko finishes the song, Mariana starts clapping. “Wooow! Your singing is so good!”

She hopes she won’t startle the other girl. It turns out that she doesn’t at all. Yuko puts the shower head back, spins on her heel, and strikes a pose. “That’s right! Magical Girl 💖Yuko-chan💖 can do anything! Beautiful, talented, and sophisticated!”

“Humble, too!” Mariana teases.

“Yeah! That too!” She hops on and off a stool. Her energy never seems to end. “Gosh… the compliments!! I’m burning up! And I’m alone in here with the Ultimate Model? It’s like a scene from a yuri manga…”

Yuko freezes on the stool, covering her burning cheeks with her hands. “Eeeeeeep!!! Yikes! There’s so much romantic potential! Too bad I’m already taken by the most amazing girl in the world!”

Mariana tilts her head. “A ‘yuri’ manga? Do they make mangas about lilies? I don’t read much.” Not because she can’t, but she’ll omit that detail. “Oh, you’re taken, though! You said you had a girlfriend, right? How cute! I won’t do anything to you, don’t worry.”

“Yep! The amazing Postmastress Yuko-chan has a promise riiiiiiiinnnggggg!” she squeals. She shows off said ring, prancing around. Mariana gasps and coos over it, clapping politely. It’s just a simple band, but it clearly means a lot to her.

As Yuko gushes about her girlfriend, Mariana looks around. Yuko singing had been the most notable thing about this locker room; otherwise, it seems completely average. “Have you found anything yet, Yuko?”

“Oh, um, we all have mailboxes in the hallway with our dorms!” Yuko says. “And we need to use our stupid tablet things to get into our dorm rooms! Yuck!”

Mariana tilts her head. “Do you not like them?”

“No! I hate technology! E-mail ruined mail! It’s just texting, but worse!” Yuko blows a raspberry. “Anyway, we all had no mail! Probably ‘cause we just got here!”

“I see…” Mariana’s already feeling withdrawals without her cell phone, but she’ll keep that to herself.

Although Mariana wants to keep focusing on the investigation, but now she can’t take her eyes off Yuko’s promise ring. What could it feel like to be so sure you loved someone that much? Mariana thought she knew that, once.

“Ah, Yuko, could I ask you a question?”

“Mhm!”

She clasps her hands together. “If you have a promise ring… well… when did you know that you wanted to be basically, well, betrothed to your girlfriend?”

Yuko squishes her cheeks with her hands, blushing. “I knew from the moment I saw her!! It’s love at first sight! We’re soulmates, so it’s super duper romantic and dreamy…” She sighs, her lashes fluttering. “You know in manga when the heroine sees someone and flowers bloom in the panel behind them?”

“Um, yeah,” Mariana lies. It’s something of a childish view, but at least it helps her put the question to rest. She hadn’t felt anything like that before, and she still didn’t feel like that now— not for Meijin or anyone. “It’s nice that you feel that way. I’ll make sure you get back safely to, um…”

“Kacchan!” Yuko says. “It’s short for Rinka! Which is her name!”

“I’ll make sure you get back safely to Rinka.” Mariana nods. Hopefully this is a promise she can keep.

“Yay! Thanks, Mari!” Yuko says. “Do you have a special someone?”

“Me? No, I don’t,” Mariana holds her hands up to her cheeks feigning embarrassment. She shrugs shyly. “I thought I did, once, you know, but um… I’m not the right kind of girl to be loved like you, you know? It’s like… people see me more as more of a beast to be tamed.”

“Beast?! No, no. Not unless you’re, like, a werewolf or something. Which would still be a good romance,” Yuko giggles.

“Oh? A what-wolf?”

Yuko laughs. “Nothing… foreign girls are so cute!”

For a moment, Mariana almost thought she could level with this girl. The reality hits her harder every time she almost lets her guard down. “Um, I need to keep looking around! Just in case a dummy like me can find something useful, y’know? See ya!”

“Uh-huh! See you, Mari!”

Mariana takes a deep breath when she leaves the locker room. Sometimes even now, she can feel men’s hands touching her. They think because she doesn’t understand their words, she can’t feel their hands. On the train. During a photoshoot. Even over a tutoring session.

She needs to focus on her surroundings. She tries to zoom in on something. There’s sound. It’s like a basketball being dribbled. The repetitive thump, thump, thump of the ball is something she can focus on besides her pounding heart. Then she sees a figure running around the court-- he tosses the ball--

“Mariana?” he asks. It’s a familiar voice. It’s Meijin. He picks up the ball and walks over to her. She needs to focus.

“What took you so long? Everything okay?” Meijin asks with a small smile.

She manages to smile also. “Yeah, like, I just ran into Yuko! So we had some girl talk, you know?”

“Oh, well, that’s ok! I, um, didn’t want to rush you.”

It’s hard to believe that he’s not using his kindness as a means to an end. Still, she lets herself calm down a little. Just a little. The way his dimples look when he smiles is just too cute.

“Are you good at sports, too?” she marvels.

Meijin shakes his head. “No, no. I’m way too short for basketball.”

He really is; he only reaches about her chest. She could just crush him if she wanted to. Perfect height for a man, really. The others are always just trying to throw around their tallness and strength. She only wore flats around some boys so she wouldn’t offend their delicate sensibilities.

“You looked—” Cute. “Like you knew what you were doing. I don’t think size matters, you know?” She winks. “No matter how short, or what you look like, if you want to do it, you can do it… or something like that.”

“I guess so,” Meijin laughs, his cheeks turning a little bit pink. “I think that, um, everyone probably is about ready to report… is it okay if I go gather everyone here?”

“Yeah, here is fine.” She feels a little sad that their time together is coming to a close. “Um, I’ll help you gather people!”

“Great! If we split up, we could cover the whole first floor quickly,” Meijin says.

Her heart sinks. “Like, yeah, absolutely.”

“Alright! Partners in not-crime, here we go!” Meijin says. He runs out, only to come back in a moment later and put the basketball away neatly. Then he gives her an awkward wave and runs out again.

Mariana still doesn’t have her hopes up for an escape route. Even if there is one, she might be dismayed still. There’s no chance that some rich-looking prodigy like him would ever spend time with her in the real world.

\---

She counts off her list. There shouldn’t be anyone else left to call to the meeting in the gymnasium. She briefly met with Meijin and he claimed that he hadn’t seen Morihimo, the Ultimate Jester, though. So here she is now.

“Morihimo?” she calls out, hearing her voice echo in the empty halls. “Where are you?”

For a second, she wonders if he actually found a way out. Wouldn’t he tell the others if there was? Maybe he thought Monokuma would close it up if he found it, so he ran to get help.

She entertains this thought for about five seconds until she opens one of the classroom doors and finds him juggling six VHS tapes, standing atop a miniature throne made of other tapes. “Mariana!! Throw me some more tapes! C’mon!”

“Um, I just came to tell you we’re all meeting up in the gym to share our findings,” she says. Has he just been juggling and playing around? That doesn’t seem too productive. “Have you found anything?”

“Just now, I did!” Morihimo says. “A stinky bimbo shoved her head in the door! Yuck! And you don’t even bring tapes for this poor Jester to juggle? I suppose you’re too busy juggling failed relationships!”

Mariana’s face burns. He’s almost certainly just throwing any random insult that will stick, and she’s heard worse. It’s fine. “Like, okay. I’m just too stupid to understand most of your words so I guess I should see myself out.”

“Catch!”

Which is how she winds up with a VHS tape flying at her. She shrieks and covers her face. The tape winds up bouncing off her boobs onto the floor.

“Whew! Saved by the bazongas!” Morihimo says. “It’s kind of indecent for those things to bounce like that… you should avoid bouncing stuff on them. Are you some kind of loose girl?”

“You threw it at me!” she snaps. “What even is this?”

“Take a look! Even if you can’t read, you have eyes, don’t you?”

Against her better judgement, she looks at the box. Her face heats up even more upon locking eyes with a nearly-nude female model. It’s some type of old-school sex ed tape. She slams it down on the desk in a huff. “I don’t need this.”

“Clearly you don’t! Bow-chicka-wow wow!” Morihimo says. “I guess that’s what happens when you’ve got huge honkers. I mean huge bahongas. I mean massive bazongamongas.”

She’s almost made it out the door again when he adds: “But the real tape is hidden inside the fun box, you silly foreigner! Do you think Monokuma would have a box that just says ‘TOP SECRET’?”

“Oh, so you think I’m too stupid to look? I’m going to look inside, and if it’s a prank then I’m going to go back to the gymnasium without you.” She pulls out the VHS tape. It’s a plain black tape that has ‘TOP SECRET’ written on it. “And let me guess. You wrote this?”

“I would never!” Morihimo crosses his heart. “I don’t even have a marker!”

Judging by the old TV on a little push cart, she assumes he’s already checked this. “Then what’s on it?”

“Top secret stuff, of course!”

“I’m not going to put this into the TV and have it be some kind of joke.” She has half a mind to chuck it at his head, but that’s just what he wants. “If you found something useful, come to the gymnasium. Or don’t. I don’t care.”

“Here you are, asking another guy to come somewhere!” Morihimo says. “How many has it been now? Can you count high enough to know?”

She runs several calming thoughts through her mind. Just let it go, Mariana. You get heckled all the time. It’s not a big deal. Just put on a smile. Just bear with it.

It’s just like out in the real world. It happens all the time.

But this isn’t the real world. This is a shitty stupid school that she’s forcibly locked in.

“Your ‘Ultimate’ talent is being a Jester and that’s the best you’ve got? Really? You can’t make anyone laugh.” She has her back to him, fists clenched. She can’t let him see that she’s tearing up. It’s a culmination of all the stress she’s repressed until now. “Everyone’s given their all to find a way to promote trust and help each other and all you want to do is give unoriginal insults I’ve heard a thousand times? It’s less than pathetic. I guess I am just a stupid foreigner because I can’t even think of a word low enough to describe a thing like you.”

She hears Morihimo drawing breath to speak again, but she silences him by just holding up a hand. “Whatever. It’s not like I’ll ever have anything useful to say. I’m just a dumb bimbo with huge bandokas or whatever. Stay alone in here.”

“I don’t want to play Monokuma’s game.” Morihimo’s voice sounds oddly flat. “If he can put in a massive vault door, he can do anything. The only ‘clues’ that are around here are ones he planted to sew distrust. All he wants us to do is kill. The fact that this tape hasn’t been confiscated proves it will only further that goal for him.”

“So you’re going to just give up?” she snaps. “You don’t know how good you have it to just have that kind of luxury. To just sit back and let everyone else do everything. I guess that’s what I should have expected from a school like this. And news flash: mocking people like that is only going to make distrust worse.”

He catches all the VHS tapes that he was juggling in one hand and puts them down, crestfallen. Every time he tries to speak, nothing comes out.

Finally, in some strange act of ventriloquism, his jester’s mask- currently dangling from a belt on his costume- speaks for him. “We have found something, but we will not attend the meeting. Our findings will only sew more distrust. We will trust you with this knowledge instead. Each classroom has 14 desks, but there are 15 students.”

Mariana crosses her arms. “And?”

“There’s one extra. Someone who’s not one of us locked-in students, who awoke on those desks. Perhaps a mole, or the Mastermind themself,” the mask says.

Morihimo turns around, and then Mariana doesn’t know if it’s him or the mask speaking. “Do with that as you will.”

“Because I’m too stupid to do anything with it, right?” she spits. He doesn’t reply. Fuming, she stomps out of the classroom.

\--

Fourteen.

Each classroom has fourteen desks.

It probably doesn’t mean anything. Maybe the Jester even removed them himself. Maybe one of the students just woke up on the floor or at a teacher’s desk.

“For a Jester who doesn’t want to play Monokuma’s game, you sure found some clues, huh?” Mariana grumbles to herself. His words dug under her skin like parasites. It must just be the stress from the supposed ‘killing game’ making her emotions heightened. Which is also why she feels so much relief at the prospect of returning to Meijin.

But a tiny detour is fine. All the classrooms are close by. And what if this is something important? What if it’s all bullshit and she can know for sure to never listen to that damned Jester again? Her mind won’t rest.

The last classroom she checks is the one she stormed out of. She’s not sure what she’ll say to Morihimo if she sees him, but he’s gone by the time she re-enters. The VHS tapes remain where they lay.

Disdainfully, she picks up the ‘TOP SECRET’ one. She inserts it into the VHS player, fully expecting it to be some kind of stupid joke.

Sure enough, a sex ed video starts. A woman is explaining periods. Just before she ejects the tape, the voice changes.

“A woman may get her first period at an age of— _if you’re hearing this message, this tape survived to the next class. I don’t know how much time I have. Listen_ ,” says the new voice. Mariana can’t make out of it’s male or female— it almost sounds like the person is actively trying to not make their voice recognizable. “ _One of the students isn’t with us. Their purpose here is to observe us and lead us. There’s only fourteen students in our class. Don’t trust them. Don’t trust—_ anywhere from eight to fifteen, but the average age is twelve!”

Mariana nearly screams as the regular sex ed tape returns. There are times when the tape jumbles and the audio or video glitches, but nothing clear can be made out. She removes it and places it carefully back in the box, looking at it again.

Was this planted by the Mastermind to make them distrust one another? Or did some other victim of the killing game plant this? But who? Meijin and Mariana agreed this type of thing had never happened at Future Point before, hadn’t it?

Her head is spinning. She sits down at one of the desks and stares at the chalkboard. Was one of them a mole? Was one of them the Mastermind? What would anyone have to gain from doing this?

She runs her hands along the wood varnish. This school was supposed to help her jumpstart her career. She wonders if she would have liked classes here. Something about sitting at this desk fills her with a sense of nostalgia. She’s probably imagining things from the stress, but she could almost imagine passing gossip notes with Yuko and working with Meijin on group projects and helping Souta pack up all his belongings.

Almost.

When she’s calmed down, she turns and promptly flips off each security camera in the room. She doesn’t care if she’s not beautiful. She doesn’t care if she’s not polite. She’s done playing around. Mariana walks out of the room with renewed purpose.

\---

The lack of natural light has already thrown off Mariana’s sense of time. According to the Monopad, it’s getting close to ‘Night Time’, when parts of the school would lock down. She has no way of knowing if that’s actually true or not.

Regardless, she finally joins the other students in the gym. True to his word, Morihimo is absent, but the other students are here. “Sorry for being late. I couldn’t find Morihimo.” The lie flows naturally from her lips.

“It is fine… I just got here, myself,” Souta says. When Mariana takes a spot in the group discussion, he inches awkwardly closer to her. “We were just about to share our findings… heh.”

“Should another of us find Morihimo?” asks Nunosuke, crossing his massive arms.

Some chatter breaks out until a smooth voice interrupts. “It’s soon to be Night Time. We must share our findings before we find out whatever Monokuma has planned for us next,” Yusuke says. “We can give Morihimo a recap if he is found. Let us begin sharing in order.”

Ugh! That just makes it sound like this was all his idea and not Meijin’s. Mariana hates everything he’s trying to be, from the tiara to the weird student council sash and the princely vibe.

Chuya bites a nail. She’s standing next to Yusuke, so she speaks first. “Um… I found some brochures in the front desk area of the school… it looks like it’s been abandoned for a while. I…” She winces, as if remembering something painful. “Didn’t find much else of use.”

Souta goes next. “I found that there were many CDs in the computer lab… none of them contained any relevant information. It appears as if none of the computers are connected to the Internet.”

Mariana hesitates. She’s not sure if she’s ready to share the clue that Morihimo led her to. Instead, when it’s her turn, she shares the mundane findings that her and Meijin came across— the food and water is safe, the windows are sealed, and so on.

Kokoro flips through the pages of her notebook. She adjusts her huge glasses before speaking. “I’ve discovered that there are three locked rooms on this floor… they are present on the map, but they are not labeled, as other rooms such as this gymnasium are.”

“Oh! I bet one of them is the exit!” Yuko sings. “Yay!”

Reiko quickly intervenes before an argument can start. “Nunosuke and I investigated together. We searched this room in particular.” She points to a room on the school map labeled ‘waiting room’. It’s on the far side of the school, not attached to anything in particular. “As you can see, it’s not attached to anything in particular… in addition, it had nothing of interest in it… it is hard to imagine what one would wait there for.”

After she finishes speaking, she blanches under the weight of everyone’s stares. “Um… s-sorry if it’s not very good…”

Nunosuke places a large hand on her shoulder. “It is okay. We searched thoroughly. This may yet be of use.”

“My turn?” Touma adjusts his glasses. “I checked out the boiler room. The entire school is powered by a generator that has a big lever locked inside a glass case. The lever says ‘ON’ and ‘OFF’, and guess which one it’s flipped to.” He gestures around to the working lights and other electric utilities. “Apparently, fresh water comes into the school through this industrial-size purifier.”

“Strange… why?” Kuro asks. “Is the water in Tokyo that bad? I live in the country n’ we boil water usually before drinking it.”

“Um, I think there’s an air purifier as well,” Mariana adds. “I mean, maybe? There’s no fresh air, and it feels like the air is recycled…”

“That makes sense…” Kokoro nods.

“Yo, could we bust the glass case and turn off the power? Maybe it would open a door or some shit,” Ahoki says.

“That would likely count as ‘destruction of school property’,” Yusuke says, pointing to his Monopad. “I may be wrong, but I believe that was a rule that the blond student- Akira- was shot for, besides violence against the Headmaster.”

Everyone falls silent. “Did anyone get the chance to check on him?” Meijin asks. “The infirmary was locked for us…”

Touma puts his hands on his hips and puffs out his chest. “I did! I knocked on the door until Monokuma told me to shut up! I asked nicely if I could visit, and he said Akira didn’t want visitors, and I said nobody has ever wanted me but that hasn’t stopped me!” He clears his throat. “Anyway, he was very unhappy but alive.”

“Same,” Kuro mumbles.

“That’s a relief…” Mariana places a hand to her chest.

Ahoki’s standing away from the group. She still has her crowbar. “I’ll participate in this shit n’ all, but I ain’t gonna be a victim,” she snorts, as people eye her. “Doctor Virgin and I over there—” She points at Souta, “were in the storage room for a bit. There’s a computer catalog in there where you can order shit ‘cause there’s a fuckload of shelving, and some robot hand grabs it and places it all gentle on the delivery pad. Guess they don’t wanna fuckin’ pummel that shit like a 1000-Yen hooker.”

“I think she means… it could be dangerous to drop heavy items rather than place them down…” Souta says, scratching his neck.

“They have weapons in the storage room?” Yusuke asks.

“This crowbar was the only item in particular of that kind,” Souta answers for Ahoki. “It was next to supplies such as a car engine, though, so perhaps it was placed there for… innocent purposes?”

“No knives or guns or bombs. Guess he wants us to be creative,” Ahoki snorts.

“I also searched that room, but at a later time,” adds Hinako, the talking doll. “Since I am a doll, I wanted to know if I could get the delivery system to crush me. If I were to ‘die’, I could be reassembled.” She clasps her wooden hands. “Sadly, the metal crane would not lower if I was standing upon the delivery pad, or if another item was already upon it. It remained suspended in the air.”

“Safety precautions? Interesting, for a killing game,” Yusuke says, scratching his chin with a gloved hand.

“I found something like that! But not ‘cause I’m gonna kill anyone,” Kuro mumbles. “The trash room has a trash compactor, but there’s a paper on it that says it won’t crush living bodies… and that it’s against the rules to throw a human body in the incinerator. Monokuma showed up and said it’s ‘cause if nobody ever discovered the body, it would ‘ruin the fun’, quote unquote.”

“I do not like his idea of fun,” Reiko mumbles.

“I hung out with Mariana!” Yuko cheers. “And there are mailboxes near our dorms, but they were empty! And, and, you need your Monopad ugly technology thing to get in your dorm, so boo!”

“I see. Thank you, everyone, for your contributions.” Yusuke crosses his arms. “I will assume that, in terms of escape routes… no progress has been made.”

A hush falls over the students.

“All the metal plates covering the windows were impossible to so much as budge,” says Nunosuke. Mariana glances again at his massive arms. If anyone could break that metal, it would have been him.

“The vault door was locked tight as shit,” Ahoki says. “That’s the real fuckin’ deal.”

“I couldn’t find anything tiny to crawl through,” Kuro says. The girl is as short and small as Nunosuke is strong. “The vents are too tiny for a human to get through. Maybe a rat or a ghost.”

“Ghost?!” Chuya gasps. “But nobody’s died!”

Unless this isn’t the first killing game. Mariana remembers the tape, and then again chooses to keep it to herself. Where could Morihimo have gone?

Besides Chuya’s misunderstanding, every student who spoke did so in an increasingly morbid tone until the room fell to silence. All the students eyed one another as if suspicious. Ahoki tightened her grip on her crowbar.

“Then… is it hopeless?” Reiko asks, reaching for a magatama necklace around her neck. “C-can we never find help? Will one of us have to… to…”

“No! I won’t let it happen!” Meijin shouts. His outburst causes Reiko to jump and cling to Nunosuke’s side. When Meijin speaks again, it’s much quieter. “Sorry, sorry. I just… we can’t give up on hope! There has to be another way…”

Mariana speaks next. “He’s right. Our loved ones must be waiting for us. I don’t believe, and I can’t believe, that there’s nothing to be done except kill. I also don’t think we should rot in here as prisoners.”

“If we try and break out, we’ll end up like that boy… like Akira,” Kuro murmurs.

Meijin scratches his chin. “Then what if we did not try to break out… but others tried to break in?”

“That would endanger others, would it not?” Yusuke interjects.

“We don’t know what the state of the outside world is,” Meijin points out. “No police have come yet. It’s possible maybe nobody knows this is happening in here. We could try and call out for help at the vault door. Someone might be able to hear us and help.”

“I apologize, but I do not believe screaming and simply hoping a benevolent soul will hear is the best use of our time,” Yusuke says. “We should redouble our efforts to search for an exit. We’ll begin again tomorrow and assign everyone to different locations; that way, a fresh pair of eyes can search every room.”

“Isn’t the definition of insanity doin’ the same shit over and over again?” Ahoki snorts. “Count me the fuck out. I’m not gonna dick around and wait for one of you to stab me.”

At the word ‘stab’, Reiko buries her face into Nunosuke’s chest and starts sobbing. The tension in the room only grows. Meijin says reassuringly, “nobody’s going to get stabbed. But we have to stick together.”

“Ahoki, that type of attitude is only feeding into the paranoia,” Mariana says, crossing her arms. “Let’s reach a compromise if we want to get anything done, like, okay? We can try Meijin’s idea first, and if nothing happens right away, we’ll keep searching like…” She can’t bring herself to say Yusuke’s name. “Like he wants. But we aren’t going to give up.”

“Yeah! That’s right!” Yuko hops in the air. “No matter how many letters are left on your route, you gotta keep delivering!”

“And even if the ideas may be a few letters short of a full mail bag, hey, what’s the harm in trying?” Touma laughs.

“I would never lose a letter!” Yuko gasps.

A few students chuckle and Mariana breathes a sigh of relief. She absolutely does not want to be the class babysitter, but if she has to hold things together, so be it. Meijin catches her eye and mouths a silent ‘thank you’.

A slam cuts through the chatter. Uneasy footsteps echo in the silence of the gymnasium. All students’ eyes fall upon Akira, his blond hair matted to his forehead and bandages wrapped around his torso.

“Oh! Akira!” Reiko gasps. Her eyes are still red and puffy, but she seemingly puts aside her anxiety for him. “Are you sure you are well enough to walk?”

“Shut the fuck up,” he answers. Reiko reacts like she’s been slapped, shrinking back behind Nunosuke’s imposing figure.

Mariana steps out of the circle toward him. “I know you’re hurting, but you shouldn’t talk to people like that. Do you need help?”

He shakes his head and keeps walking forward, grimacing in pain with each step.

“You shouldn’t be walking yet with your wound in that condition,” Souta scolds. “I’ll forcibly escort you back to the infirmary if I must. I do not trust that Monokuma provided the best treatment for you…”

“He didn’t. He didn’t want me alive because he’s merciful,” Akira snarls.

He seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing during the introductions— collected, if not disturbed. Now it’s like he’s an animal that’s broken loose. His eyes graze over the students like a predator over his prey. His fingertips are around Kuro’s throat before anyone can react. Mariana struggles to process his burst of speed.

The tiny girl screeches, but Akira clamps a hand shut over her mouth and pulls her back against his chest. His other hand clamps tight around her neck. “Shut up. It’s nothing personal. Just insurance. Monokuma won’t break his own rules and shoot an innocent student,” he says in a low growl.

“Let her go!” Meijin yells.

“Not until you’ve listened to me. If I don’t get this out, you’ll kill each other like feral dogs rather than focus on our true opponent. But if I’m not careful, Monokuma will finish me for ruining his game.”

Mariana dares to take another step forward. Akira takes a step back, tightening his grip on Kuro’s throat. “Then have her swap places with me, if you won’t hurt anyone. I won’t let anyone else get hurt.”

Ahoki surges forward and raises her crowbar, but Nunosuke grabs her arm to restrain her. “I’ll fuckin’ bash his skull in!” Ahoki snarls. “Fuckin’ lying scum!”

Nunosuke tightens his grip on her wrist. “No. Violence will not solve this!”

“Ahoki. Let me do this,” Mariana says.

Tentatively, Ahoki stops kicking her legs to escape. Nunosuke releases her. Mariana approaches Akira with her hands raised. In an instant, he shoves Kuro on the floor and grabs Mariana instead.

She can feel his pulse in his fingertips. It’s racing so fast that she’s not sure how he hasn’t passed out from blood loss. She can feel the barely-dressed wound on her back, warm and sticky.

Kuro scampers up, sobbing. Hinako pulls her into her doll-like arms. Mariana notices a pool of blood on the back of Kuro’s uniform, but it’s not her own.

“Just as fitting to have you in my clutches,” Akira spits. “You know what I’m about to say but you didn’t tell anyone, did you?”

“What are you talking about?” Mariana demands.

“The fifteenth student.”

Mariana’s blood runs cold. She wants to defend herself, but she can’t get a word out.

Her lack of answer only seems to make him angrier. “They deserve to know!” Akira’s voice raises to a shout. “Listen to me! Each classroom has fourteen desks, and there are fifteen of us— but there are only fourteen students meant to enter Class 82! One of us is a traitor!”

“What?! One of us is the Mastermind?!” Chuya shrieks.

“Or a mole working for them,” Kokoro observes. She bites the eraser of her pencil. “How fascinating…”

“You expect us to believe that?” Meijin snaps. “You’re trying to make us turn on each other!”

“Would you believe it coming from her?” Akira’s grip tightens on Mariana. “She knew this whole time, but kept it secret! Why would she except if she was the mole?”

“To stop this from happening!” Meijin gestures to the terrified students. “We’re going to need more evidence than that!”

“I’m… sorry, everyone,” Mariana says. “But I did find more. There was a VHS tape labeled ‘top secret’, and…”

And suddenly it becomes clear how Akira knows that she knows, and why Morihimo isn’t here at the meeting. Her fists ball at her sides. Is he on her side or not?

“And… it was a voice warning us. Some kind of secret message, I think,” Mariana says. “It warned that one of us is a traitor.”

“And it’s… Mariana?” Yuko says, eyes wide.

“Why would she tell us that if she was the traitor?” Hinako asks.

“To make us think she’s not, when she is?” Kuro mutters.

“Silence yourselves. This line of thinking isn’t leading us anywhere,” Yusuke says. He reveals a file folder that had been hidden in his jacket. “Let us stick only to facts. I discovered this during my search with Chuya, after… circumstances caused her to leave. The enrollment record reveals that there were indeed fourteen students planned to enter Future Point Academy’s Ultimate Branch, the 82nd Class.”

More students gasp in shock. Akira’s eyes narrow. “You kept it secret, too?”

“As was suggested, I would not incite a needless panic. I had planned to reveal it… without your presence,” Yusuke says, a glint in his eye.

“Why?” Akira demands.

“Because the list of enrolled students doesn’t include you.”

Mariana feels cold air against her throat as Akira releases her. He stumbles backward, eyes wide in terror.

“No… no!” he snaps. “This is a trick!”

“H-he said he couldn’t remember his talent! It’s suspicious!” Kuro yells, pointing at him.

“You’re being deceived!” Akira’s screaming now, his voice raspy and hoarse. “The Mastermind left that to implicate me! Why would they make it so easy?!”

“I’m afraid to say that you’ve brought this upon yourself,” Yusuke says, regarding Akira with a cold glare. “We could have discussed things with reason. Regardless of your true identity, you’ve spread distrust.”

“The only way out is to… kill the traitor.” Akira’s face drains of color by the minute. “That’s why… I have to… I have to…”

This time, he isn’t interrupted by a bullet. He collapses to the floor, his bandages soaked through.


	2. Chapter 1 / Daily Life, Part I

**CHAPTER 1: CLIMBING FROM A SHALLOW GRAVE**

DAY 1

TIME: NIGHT

After Akira’s collapse, Nunosuke had volunteered to move Akira to the infirmary. Mariana and Meijin helped Souta gather supplies. The small infirmary had fallen into disarray, either from time or whatever Monokuma had done earlier.

Souta had put on his rubber gloves and surgical mask. Mariana helped set up a privacy curtain. Meijin apparently had some medical knowledge and passed over items to Souta during surgery as needed. Mariana assisted when she could as well. She couldn’t just stand by helplessly.

Nunosuke had insisted on remaining to help guard Akira-- from others or from himself. He had privately told Mariana that he’s sworn against violence, but his tall and muscular physique would hopefully be enough of a preventative measure against attacks. Meijin had volunteered out of the goodness of his heart, and Souta-- well, he was the only doctor.

The night stretches on. Monokuma’s Night Time announcement had come and gone. Souta finishes his work, but for a long time monitors Akira’s vitals as he sleeps.

Mariana briefly leaves to find that the cafeteria has been locked with shutter gates. Oh well. It’s not like she’s really hungry, anyway.

Nunosuke speaks the first casual words in hours when she returns. “Your jacket is soaked on the back.”

She reaches back and finds her nails return with caked red blood. ‘Soaked’ might not be the right word anymore. “Oh my gosh, I like, totally forgot I was wearing it still.” It really has been a nightmare of a day; she’s conscious of what she wears at all times, otherwise. “Should I, um, take it off? I only had one uniform, but I don’t think I need to wear it…”

“No!” Meijin says, cheeks heating up. “I mean, there’s laundry, and um… there might be more clothes somewhere…”

Mariana arches a brow. “I just meant my jacket… unless you wanted me to take off more?”

His face becomes absolutely tomato-like. She wants to just reach out and squish his freckled cheeks. Before he can embarrass himself with another response, though, Nunosuke speaks up. “I have… some skill in cleaning unwanted stains, such as blood, from clothing. If you would not mind, allow me to see if the blood has contaminated your shirt as well.”

“Ooh, naughty. I’ll show you as much as you want,” Mariana laughs. She’s needs to shake off the tension somehow. She peels off the jacket, revealing the typical sailor uniform top underneath. She does a little spin, raising her hands over her head.

“I see. The clothing underneath has not been stained by blood. That is fortunate,” Nunosuke says, clearly unbothered. He must work with a lot of models.

“Huuuuh? The clothing ‘underneath’?” Mariana puts a finger to her lips. “But, like, you don’t even know if my underwear is bloodstained… unless you want to check?”

Meijin at this point has buried his face in his hands. Nunosuke just furrows his brow. “Why would your undergarments be stained if your uniform is not?”

She laughs. “I guess there’s no need, then… oh, well,” she says, running a hand through her wavy hair.

This is normal. This is natural. If she forgets that she’s waiting for her new friend to finish performing surgery on a student who just held her hostage, the situation is almost manageable. She sticks out her tongue. “Gosh, Nunosuke, you should know not to ask a girl something like that. There are reasons a woman can get a little bloody without a wound, right? There’s plenty of tapes about it in the classroom.”

“Do you require sanitary products? We are in the infirmary already. It may be stocked,” Nunosuke says.

It’s like joking with a brick wall. “Um, no, I’m fine.” She shakes her head. Mentioning periods, now? What was she thinking?

He nods. “I will quickly take your jacket to the laundry room. Please watch out for Souta and Akira in my absence.”

She hands over the jacket. It’s hard to even hold her arms out as exhaustion rapidly catches up with her. “Thank you! You’re, like, seriously so helpful. I super appreciate that in a man.”

Nunosuke only nods as he leaves. Meijin and Mariana share a look. Even with all of Meijin’s over-the-top embarrassed expressions, it can sometimes be hard to read the boy’s eyes. She stretches, making sure her uniform top raises up and exposes much of her midriff as possible. “What a long day…”

“Yeah… you can say that again.” Meijin rubs his hands with his face.

Mariana tries to bat his hands away. “Meijin, stop! You’re going to get zits and stuff!”

She raises her eyebrows as he starts laughing. Meijin wipes a tear from his eye. “Sorry, you’re right, just… I like how that’s your priority.”

She crosses her arms and pushes her boobs up. “Soooorrryy… beauty is very important to a model, you know,” she says. “All the stress is going to be bad for my skin… And it’s not like I don’t care about the situation with Akira.”

Meijin smiles, instantly shattering her armor. “Thanks for trying to lighten the mood. I feel like you really help me keep my head cool, you know? I like that in a partner.”

“Um, yeah, totally!” she says. When he looks so cute like that, she feels anything but cool. More… hot under the collar. “I’m not very smart or anything, so… usually I can help out guys by showing off a little and making them smile…”

“But you are smart,” Meijin says, as if it’s fact. “You figured out the information that Akira told everyone, didn’t you? And that was just in the few minutes I was gone. You tested the food for poison when I hadn’t even thought of it, too.” He looks at her meaningfully, piercing her deeper with his stare. “I think you’ve got a lot more intelligence than you let in on.”

Mariana’s not sure how to feel. Fortunately, before she can give an answer, Souta pulls back the curtain that he was operating behind. Akira lays on the metal table with re-applied bandages. He’s restrained by thick leather straps.

“He will be fine… at least through the night,” Souta says. “I will need to monitor him overnight. Tomorrow morning, I must work on him again and reapply his bandages.”

“You can’t just work all night alone,” Meijin protests. “You won’t get any sleep like that.”

Souta’s head turns slowly to regard Meijin. “Heh… your concern is touching… but I rarely sleep, anyway. I believe there is a vending machine in the school store… I will survive off of canned coffee. When the cafeteria reopens, I will make myself some espresso…”

“That’s, like, a lot of caffeine!” Mariana’s mouth forms an ‘o’. “But, um, I heard coffee is good for your heart?” She leans in, noticing Souta’s eyes follow the sway of her bust. “And you sure have a great big heart for helping him like this… after all he did…”

Souta’s eyes narrow. “I must admit… I did not treat him because I wanted to. His actions were awful. Yet… I have sworn an oath to help others… and he seems like he knows much more than he lets in on. I would like to speak with him when he regains consciousness.”

“Are those restraints necessary?” Meijin asks.

“Ask… Mariana. Or Kuro,” Souta says, dryly.

Meijin crosses his arms. “It’s just a little extreme.”

“As his doctor… I find it in his best interest. It is to protect him from himself.” Souta adjusts his glasses. “He will frankly not survive if he opens up that wound again… heh. I know it leaves him helpless… but I will not harm him. I will ask Nunosuke to help monitor him… his strength will deter potential attackers.”

And what if Nunosuke becomes an attacker? Souta has no chance of fighting him off. The large boy had said he swore off of violence, but what if that was a lie? His eyes became twitchy when he claimed he knew how to clean blood out of clothing…

Mariana speaks up. “I can stay here and help, too! Um, even if it’s just for moral support…” She taps a finger to her lips. “I can do whatever you ask me to do…”

Meijin’s cheeks are pink. “I want to help also. He’s still a member of… our group.” He can’t say ‘our class’ anymore. “He could be a friend to us. We just need to show him that.”

A strange smile pulls at the corners of Souta’s chapped lips. “Heh… your words are moving… but I would not ask of you two to incur the same health risks as me… you must sleep. Come help me first thing in the morning, if you still wish…”

Mariana’s pushed through exhaustion hundreds of times to keep modeling, keep working, just keep going. She hasn’t been able to take a break for a minute since it became just her and her mom. That’s how she got into Future Point.

But she’s never been through this. Even now, it’s like there’s a weight on her shoulders getting heavier by the minute. She opens her mouth to protest, but she just yawns. “I think… I’ll sleep for an hour or two… if it’s really okay.”

“Well… I trust that Souta has it handled from here. He’s the Ultimate Surgeon.” Meijin smiles. “Do you want to walk back to the dorms together?”

Mariana sleepily runs a hand through her hair. “Totally… I’ll feel so much safer having you by my side.” She turns to Souta. “Um, could you please ask Nunosuke to leave my jacket here? I’ll get it tomorrow morning.”

Souta nods. “Understood. Heh… I will take care of it...”

With that, Meijin leads the way out. He even holds the infirmary doors open for Mariana like a gentleman.

She would love to make small talk with him as they walk through the halls, but all that comes to mind are his earlier words-- _“I think you’ve got a lot more intelligence than you let in on.”_

Fortunately, he doesn’t push the issue. He seems content to just walk by her side. For some reason, she feels comfortable just being quiet around him. She’s always thought that if she says nothing, men will be bored, but if she says anything, men will think she’s an annoying bitch and tell her to shut up or put her mouth to better use. It’s a losing battle. But she just can’t imagine Meijin saying either thing.

They reach the dorm hallway. Mariana finds a door with a little drawing of her on it. She holds up her Monopad to it, and sure enough, the red light on the door turns green. It must have come unlocked.

“Well, good night, partner,” Meijin says. “See you tomorrow?”

She considers him for a moment. She thinks about asking him to come in- you know, to make sure the dorm is safe- but she thinks that will only invite more risk. Even if he doesn’t attack her, it will be risky for other reasons. She can’t let herself get too attached.

Conveying none of her inner thoughts, Mariana puts on a smile and holds up a peace sign. “Like, see you tomorrow!” she says. “Sleep tight!”

When the lights flicker on, they illuminate a simple dorm room. A single bed rests against the wall next to a small dresser and mirror. The only other notable furniture is a simple wooden chair and desk. Metal plates cover the windows.

When she inspects the bathroom, she finds it bare except for a bar of soap, travel-sized shampoo and conditioner, a new toothbrush, and a box of toothpaste. Not much for a stupid stuffed bear that expects them to live here forever or kill one another. Maybe that’s the point.

She hopes she can find beauty products in the storage room tomorrow. For now, all she can do is try to wash off her makeup with the plain soap. It’s a challenge to lift her arms up with her exhaustion. Mariana falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.

\---

MONOKUMA THEATRE

_[A red curtain parts and reveals Monokuma on a stage. A microphone stand rests before him. He stares at, and directly addresses, the viewer.]_

“Everyone’s mom always says, ‘be the best you that you can be’!

Isn’t that a load of crock? How good can you really be at being yourself? What if the ‘best you’ is actually a terrible person? Wouldn’t it be better to be less like you, then?

People are afraid of their real potential. That’s why everyone is so scared of doppelgangers. In a movie, people are always scared that they’ll kill you and take over your life.

Why be so afraid of that? What if the doppelganger is the ‘best you’ that you could be? How do you know that you’re the best at being you?

And if the doppelganger is the best you, and that best you is a good person… wouldn’t it be better for everyone in your life if you let the doppelganger take your place and live your best life?

The next time you see your reflection reaching through the mirror, think to yourself… am I the best me? Nobody knows for sure.

Except for me. I know I’m the best me that I could be. That’s because I’m a bear.”

\---

DAY 2

TIME: MORNING

Mariana wakes up from a dreamless sleep. It’s either been a minute or an eternity; either way, she doesn’t feel rested at all. Fluorescent lights hum overhead, illuminating the same bare furniture, same as it ever was.

Her heart pangs for Mom’s apartment again. Each morning she would be greeted by sunlight streaming through the windows and the aroma of breakfast on the table. Now she can’t tell if it’s still night or if it’s already mid-afternoon.

The thought that she’ll never get to go see her Mama again hits her like a boulder to her chest. She can barely breathe at all. She rolls over onto the stiff pillow and sobs. The security camera in the corner drinks up every second of it.

After yet another unknown stretch of time, Mariana lays hiccuping and shivering in bed. “Pull it together,” she tells herself, gritting her teeth. “Make it through this for your papa’s sake. You think you have some problems? Boo hoo. Put on your fucking big girl panties and deal with it.”

She forces herself to take steady breaths. Standing up, she walks to the bathroom and splashes water on her face. Hopefully nobody will see her like this.

Mariana leaves her dorm to a mercifully empty hallway. She encounters nobody on the way to the storage room either. To her relief, there are a plethora of beauty supplies in the catalog. She orders just enough that she can carry and returns to her dorm.

After she showers and finishes her beauty routine, she checks the closet. It’s strangely full of clothing to her size. There are nice new things in here that she would have picked for herself, rather than left-over outfits from photoshoots or old and familiar clothes from home. She settles into a yellow blouse that shows off some cleavage and a pair of snug jeans. Shivering, she pulls on a green stadium jacket as well.

No matter what she does, that one strand of hair keeps bouncing up on top of her head. It’s her signature, she supposes.

Mariana wonders what the others must be doing. Are they awake? Is it supposed to be morning? Her tablet still just says ‘NIGHT TIME’.

She’s not going back to sleep. Her thoughts will catch up with her again. She might as well make herself useful. Mariana leaves her dorm and begins to head toward the infirmary. Halfway down the hallway, she sees Souta limping toward her on his crutch.

“Oh, Souta! You’re just the man I wanted to see!” Mariana says, clapping her hands together. “Um, I don’t know how long it’s been, but I wanted to come check on Akira! Is everything okay? You’ve been working so hard...”

Souta gives a limp nod, resting on his cane as if it’s a stake holding up a plant’s withering stem. He’s still wearing the same uniform as last night, if the coffee and sweat stains are any indication. When he speaks, his breath is acidic and stale. “He’s awake and not happy about it. The restraints proved useful… heh. It has been about… six hours, I would guess.”

“That long? I feel like I barely slept at all… I’m not used to sleeping alone. Maybe I should ask someone to join me...” She twirls her hair around a finger. “I hope Akira will be okay! Is Nunosuke still watching him?”

“Ah-- yes. I would not leave him unattended… it is not in his best interest. I just thought I would return this to you.” He holds out her uniform jacket. It’s on a coat hanger, covered in a plastic sheet as if it just came back from dry cleaning.

Mariana’s grateful for the plastic sheet-- Souta’s hands are caked in whatever’s put inside rubber gloves to dry out your hands. “Oh! Thank you! I’ll have to thank him later for it! He was so sweet to do this for me. Usually men want to get my clothing dirty, not clean it up, right?”

“I… cannot say anything about that.” Souta stares at her body for a moment too long. “It seems you have already found some new clothing… heh.”

She brushes her wavy hair behind her and shakes it out, fully aware of how her boobs are bouncing as a result. It’s all men ever notice, so she might as well play it up. “Oh my gosh, yeah! The dorms are loaded with new clothes. It’s almost kinda like we moved in already.”

Except there’s almost nothing else. Jail cells are more decorated. At least, as far as she knows.

If any of her stress shows on her face, it doesn’t matter, because Souta’s not looking at it. “I… see… heh. I should change shortly… but my priority is with my patient. I only came here to return this item to you.”

“That’s so sweet of you!” She leans in toward him, letting him have a more ample view of her cleavage. “Like, I was just coming to pick it up, but here you are! You’re so helpful, I might wind up relying on you for more favors… do I need to make it up to you for your hard work?”

He quickly gets flustered and looks away-- almost so far away that it’s like he’s trying to snap his neck. It’s adorably awkward. “It is nothing, truly. I-- I must be on my way.”

“Don’t be silly, I want to help still! Just wait here!”

She walks the few steps back to her dorm so she can put away her jacket. Mariana takes a quick detour to her bathroom and looks at herself again in the mirror, just to make sure there’s no indication that she was sobbing earlier. Satisfied, she returns to Souta, who hasn’t moved a muscle.

She pumps a fist in the air and lifts her leg up like a cheerleader. “Let’s go!”

He responds to her energy with absolutely none, giving only a low chuckle. Souta begins to shuffle off without a word.

She watches him walk. He’s clearly used to the crutch and the archaic metal leg brace. It looks like a torture device plucked from Victorian England, not a medical cast. Mariana can’t be surprised. He also has red sunken lines on his body which could either be tattoos or scars, and she’s not sure how to ask.

“Hey, wait up!” She pretends to fall behind and jogs after him. He turns away from staring at her chest again. “Sorry, I’m not trying to be slow! You’re faster than you think you are sometimes!”

“I apologize… I am in a haste to return to my patient. On good days, I can move rather quickly, even with this leg of mine. The coffee must be helping.”

Perfect, the conversation has gone exactly where she wants. “Um… gosh, I don’t want to sound too much like a dumb foreigner here, but are those common here in Japan? I’ve never seen a brace quite like that! I think it’s very unique and I’d like to, um, learn more about it!”

She doesn’t even have to show off her body to get him to comply; he jumps at the chance to talk to someone. “Ah, yes… you see, when I was younger, I… happened to lose most of my leg. The severance occurred just above the knee. The wound was rather complex, and so I have been like this for some time. It does not detract from my quality of life, so do not concern yourself with such matters… heh.”

“What? No! Like, I’d never act like you’re lesser for using a brace!” She waves her hands. “No, no! I just was curious about how it’s all metal. Does it support you better? It looks very steady.”

His lips form a thin line. “It supports me well. I have had different braces over the years. This one is a style suited to me… and my medical needs…” He trails off with a low chuckle. It’s a perfectly innocent sentence, but somehow he manages to make it sound creepy.

“I love that you incorporated it into your unique style!” Mariana says. “I think you totally rock it, and--”

She loses her train of thought upon kicking something soft and slimy. A severed hand skids down the hallway. She’s so caught off guard that she doesn’t react at first, just staring in shock and disgust.

“What…?” Mariana finally finds herself, stumbling backward. “What is that thing?!”

“A severed hand… has a murder occurred already?” Souta muses to himself, stroking his chin.

The hand gets up. It scurries toward the wall on its fingertips like a spider. As it turns, it reveals there’s no blood or gore leaking from it; the back of it, where it should attach to a wrist, is covered by smooth skin.

“It’s… functioning autonomously?” Souta asks.

“How?! What?” Mariana’s relieved it’s not a murder- at least, so far- but now she’s just confused. “Is this some kind of practical joke?”

Souta steps cautiously toward the hand. The hand scurries back an equal distance. “It’s alright… I will not hurt you…” he reassures it. Souta squats down with some effort.

The hand stays put. Souta holds out his own hand as if for a stray dog or cat to sniff. After a moment, the hand inches toward him.

“After all…” Souta’s other hand twitches near his coat pocket. In a flash, he’s drawn a scalpel. “Dissections don’t hurt.”

The small point digs into the tile where the hand had just been. It scurries rapidly past him toward Mariana. She should run or fight or react at all, but she’s frozen into place. The world feels less real and focused with every passing second.

“Capture it! I simply must know how it operates!” Souta’s voice has reached heights of emotion that Mariana hasn’t heard yet.

If it’s someone asking her, then her instincts to please kick in. She reaches down and grabs the hand. Its fingertips squirm furiously. Mariana uses her other hand to pet the back of it.

“It’s okay… I won’t hurt you,” she coos. “You’re a nice hand. Yes you are! Most hands try to grab my boobs or butt. But you’re a nice hand, aren’t you?”

It calms down. If this thing had eyes, she feels like it would be looking at her. Souta creeps toward her, but she pulls the disembodied hand back defensively.

“It’s shaking. It doesn’t want to be cut open or whatever.”

Souta holds his hands out in exasperation. “Mariana… it’s a hand.”

“Hands can do a whole lot, you know! One hand can bring a man to his knees.”

She’s not sure where this protective instinct is coming from. It’s as if she’s accepted that reality here is a few steps removed from what she used to know. Adaptation is a key part of modeling.

The hand points toward the ground. She squats down and puts it back on its fingertips. It scurries toward an electrical outlet and pushes hard. The outlet cover spins and it enters into a hidden passage.

A moment later, a section of the wall in the hallway lowers. A new hallway has appeared as if it’s been there all along; it has the same lighting, same wallpaper, same flooring.

“Am I insane? Is this a delusion?” Souta asks himself, lightly touching his cheek. “Or is this just a dream?”

“Nope!” Monokuma answers. “That was real!”

Both of them jump. That’s the second jumpscare in five minutes. “Headmaster! Good morning!” Mariana gives another bow.

Monokuma doesn’t seem to care about all the cleavage she just revealed. He gestures down the hallway. “The early birds get the worm! You were up early enough to catch one of my Handies!”

“Handies?” Mariana cocks her head.

“I imagine it like ‘handy’ as in useful… like the word ‘handyman’,” Souta says.

“Ohhh… I was thinking of a different kind of handy.”

“Don’t make fun of them! They’re my servants and they work for me!” Monokuma holds up a cute little paw. A moment later, razor-sharp claws appear from said cute little paw. “You treat them with the same respect you would treat me, the Headmaster! If I see you try and dissect one, I’ll dissect you!”

Souta perks up. “I see…”

“Don’t get any ideas is what I’m saying!” Monokuma huffs. “Anyway, since you were nice to my underling, you two get access to your talent labs early!”

“Talent… labs?” Mariana asks.

“Go in and figure it out yourself! It’s too early for me to give any more exposition!” Monokuma stretches out and yawns. “Just remember that I wasn’t lying when I said you could live here forever! This place is made for you guys to be comfortable and happy so you can practice your Ultimate talents indefinitely!”

With that, Monokuma turns a corner. When Mariana looks, he’s vanished.

“Well… shall we?” Souta asks.

They walk down the new hallway. When Mariana checks the school map, it’s been automatically updated to reflect the change. How odd.

Two doors are at the end of the hallway. One is marked with a drawing of Mariana, one with a drawing of Souta. She glances in hers and gets a whiff of salty air, but Souta stops her. “I want to look in mine,” he insists, brow furrowed.

“Right! Like, of course!” she says. No harm in looking at his first. How selfish of her.

What’s the worst that could happen?

\---

Thunder roars inside Souta’s talent lab. After the flash of lightning subsides, the only light source remaining is a chandelier filled with candles. The light they cast is barely enough to see by, but it’s enough for the dead tree potted in a cauldron to cast monster-like shadows on the stained wall.

Mariana gawks as she looks around. This was still inside the school, but it feels like stepping into a separate dimension. She feels her way through the room, avoiding an operating table attached to a strange machine with flickering light bulbs and a lightning rod. Victorian England-era medical devices line the walls-- warped saws and yellowed tomes. A classic copy of Gray’s Anatomy sits with pride in the hands of a stone gargoyle.

Lightning strikes again and she flinches. The machine with the lightning rod emits a fever pitch of beeps, but nothing happens.

“Are we still… inside?” Mariana asks.

But Souta doesn’t respond. He runs his gloved fingers over every piece of equipment, mumbling to himself. He inhales the dust of the place deeply, shivering to himself in delight. He reaches out with a trembling hand to an ice box in a dim corner.

Souta closes it before Mariana can approach. “This place is… incredible…” Souta says. “This structure is so novel. I feel myself becoming excited…”

Mariana leaps as an even louder clap of thunder hits. As she adjusts to the strange room, it dawns on her that the sound is entirely localized to the lightning rod machine. It seems to have no other purpose than to make sounds and light up. Then again, she’s not the Ultimate Surgeon.

“Um… wow. Spooky.” Mariana holds her arms close to herself, afraid of knocking over an ancient bonesaw.

She looks toward the ice box again, but Souta stands in the way of it. “This icebox contains… specimens. I don’t want to startle you.”

“Specimens? Like…”

“... Organs, or parts of cadavers... donated to medical research… heh.” Souta speaks in a high, excited pitch that she’s never heard from him before. “They are fairly well-preserved, despite the antique conditions of this lab.” He lifts his glasses and uses a handkerchief to dab sweat from his face. “You mustn’t look… you may not be used to seeing things that are grisly.”

Grisly. This is supposed to be the lab of the Ultimate Surgeon, she repeats in her mind. Mariana shivers. What could her lab look like? Maybe it’s pleasant; Souta’s pleased with his, after all.

It’s fine. He lives by the aesthetic. She’s all about style, so she can’t judge. It’s always easier to just play the nice foreign girl. “Um… I guess I’m not used to grisly stuff,” she says, a nervous laugh escaping her. “This table’s kinnky.”

Upon closer examination, the operating table has built-in metal restraints for the arms and legs. She touches one of the shackles with a fingernail. “Is this, like, your thing or something?”

Souta appears to ignore her discomfort completely, either not noticing or not caring. “I have one similar to this at home. I’ve put patients on it before, but mostly it is for… personal use.” The way his lips curl upward makes her shiver again. “There are some procedures for which one must ensure a patient doesn’t move… and harm themselves. Heh.”

Mariana makes herself release a laugh. She taps her nails hard on her thigh. “Wooow, so you have one at home? Souta, that’s, like, wild. You don’t have to call them ‘procedures’ if you don’t want… I won’t judge.”

She winks. “One time, a man offered me a million Yen to suck my toes… he wanted me to be a foot model. Anyway, if whoever you’re doing this ‘procedure’ on consents, it’s like, cool. I just don’t wanna wake up with a horn and missing a hand.”

He leans in until she can smell his acidic breath. “You thought I meant it that way,” he says, like a child making an observation. “No, no… I do mean medical procedures… heh.” He whispers, even though nobody is around to eavesdrop on them. “I trust you can keep a secret. I do ‘custom’ procedures on my own time.”

Up close, it’s even easier to notice his eyes glance down to her boobs. “If you want any additional work done, and a normal surgeon refuses you…” He doesn’t finish his sentence, but he gives her a knowing grin. His chapped lips stretch out uncomfortably.

Mariana leans closer to him, her hands on her hips. “It’s all natural,” she whispers flirtatiously. “I don’t have any implants, or any other work done. If you don’t believe me, you can feel for yourself. But thank you.”

Souta turns away, his face red. “I did not mean those kinds of procedures. I am not a plastic surgeon,” he emphasizes. Somehow this only makes her more uncomfortable. “I mean, I have seen some popular amputee models lately… but that would be the extent of my abilities. Heh. I think you are beautiful as you are, so my work is not needed.”

Mariana holds a hand up to her chest. “Aw, me? You think I’m beautiful?” she giggles. “I dunno. I think anyone could be in my place. I guess it’s more about being able to send an emotion and connect with people through the lens of a camera. You need to use your body to convey how you’re feeling.”

He shakes his head. “Most people just find me unsettling… But you are the Ultimate Model. It is objective fact that you are beautiful. Although it is a personal opinion as well. Usually I do not find beauty in girls who are so...” He doesn’t finish his sentence. 

“Objective fact and personal opinion? You sure know how to make a silly foreign girl feel special,” she laughs. “I think you shouldn’t sell yourself short. You’re cute, but the creepy vibe really sells it!”

“Cute…?” He reacts as if hearing a completely new word, like an antiquated kanji. “Am I ‘cute’? This is the first time I have heard that…” He scratches at dried blood on his labcoat. His eyes widen as if remembering Akira-- but then he turns back to her.

She’s probably got him in the bag as an ally. Meijin, too, she absently thinks. But he’s smart and perceptive like a shogi player should be. Souta, on the other hand, hasn’t looked past her body once.

Mariana decides to play into the act more. “Really? People just aren’t looking hard enough! The piercings must throw people off, but you’ve got, like, a whole aesthetic going on! It’s all about fashion!”

“Is that so…” He shifts on his good leg.

She can’t stop a small triumphant smirk from crossing her lips. Mariana sits up on the operating table and shivers as the metal touches her bare thighs. “Woooow, this thing is kind of uncomfortable… is that part of the appeal?”

Souta raises a hand as if to stop her, but he doesn’t. “Er, well… usually the patient is under anaesthetic… so it doesn’t matter how the table feels, to a patient. But I like the discomfort…” His bony chest rises and falls with his heavy breaths. “D-do you want me to strap you in?”

How far can she push it? She’s not sure. She’s gotten good at reading her Manager’s moods. That’s all she does is manipulate men. One day she’ll pay the price. But for now, if she doesn’t make allies, she’ll suffer anyway.

Mariana rolls onto her stomach, lazily kicking her feet in the air behind her. “Hm… I don’t really like being strapped down usually… but I just wanted to take a little break.”

His eyes practically devour her. It’s nothing she’s not used to, but now he’s focusing on completely random parts, like her shin or her elbow. The realization hits her that he’s not been lusting after her as a whole so much as each part separately, and it’s only an inconvenience to him that they’re connected together.

“Before… you said you hadn’t any work done… would you want that to change if you had the chance? You admired my ‘cute and creepy’ look… was that projecting?”

It’s so achingly obvious what answer he wants. She gives him a flirtatious look over her shoulder. “Well, wouldn’t you like to know? I mostly wanted to know your interests, and the extent of them. But I know there’s something you want to do to me.” His face reddens as she speaks. “What kind of ‘procedures’ would you do to me?”

“I would never do a procedure without explicit consent…” He squirms on his feet again. “I would not want to scare you with medical talk… heh.”

“You can’t scare me off. You don’t know the things men have said they want to do to me without me asking.”

The flood gates erupt. “I have a side job, as I said. Often times, pretty girls tell me they hate their legs. They want to be taller. I saw through the bone and set the cast so that the tibia grows in longer. Other people tell me they’ve always hated their arm, so I remove it…”

He runs a hand down his face, tugging at several piercings. He speaks faster. “Lots of medical enthusiasts want to know what their organs look like… so I show them. Many saw they all look the same… but I beg to differ.”

Souta’s full smile reveals a mouth of crooked teeth. Something wild and untamed has overtaken his features. “I wonder what your guts look like, Mariana… probably very, very beautiful. I love ruining perfect skin, the perfect body… and then putting it back together the way I want to! But I would never touch you without asking…” He wags his finger. “I’m a professional, you know…”

Mariana looks between each tool on the wall-- the scalpels, the bonesaws. He could kill her. He wouldn’t. He’d rather cut her open and keep her alive through the whole thing.

She jumps when something touches her lower back. It’s just a speck of plaster from the ceiling, but in her fear-addled mind, it pricked like the tip of a needle.

No words come out of her mouth. She instinctively closes her eyes and pretends to be back in the stadium with her dad. She can pretend the only hand on her is her dad’s as they both hold onto the same oversized soda bottle. She can imagine she hears the cheers of fans and not the grunts of men taking what they want.

She expects to her a chainsaw starting up, but instead, a pleasant tone plays over the intercom.

“Gooooood morning, everyone!” Monokuma says. His unnatural voice buzzes through the speakers. “It is now 8 AM and Night Time is officially over! Rise and shine! Let’s greet another beeeee-youtiful day!”

His mocking pleasantness fades with a click. When Mariana looks back at Souta, his breathing has returned to a normal level. “I suppose it is finally morning,” he says. “I have neglected my patient for too long… I must ensure with Nunosuke that there have been no issues.”

Mariana nods. “Right. Souta, um…” She inhales deeply, taking in a lungful of musty air. “Thanks for talking to me and stuff! I like the idea that my organs could be as cute as me, but I don’t really want to see them right now…”

She hops off the table. “I don’t think I have perfect skin, so I’m not your ideal specimen… but I bet you’ll find someone who is perfect and tired of being like that, so it’ll be a match.”

He parts his lips to speak again, so she quickly interjects. “The only thing you’re allowed to do is touch me to prove I haven’t had any work done. The offer is open if you need to confirm it.”

She struts out of the room and bathes in the fluorescent lights of the hallway. The door to Souta’s talent lab slowly creaks closed. He stares at her without moving or blinking until the door, pulled by inertia, swings shut.

\----

Mariana finds herself walking in the dorm hallway toward her room. When she’s in a low mood, she normally scrolls through her social media until her mind goes numb. Back when she lived in her mom’s apartment, she would lay on the couch with her mom and talk through it. Back when she thought she could tell her mom anything.

All that awaits her in her dorm are bare walls, a squeaky bed, and a single desk chair. And all that there is to scroll through on her Monopad are the school rules, school map, and the student profiles.

The student profiles are kind of like social media, if Facebook made everyone’s profiles for them out of the information they bought and sold. Nobody’s updated the student profiles on their own. She sure hasn’t shared any of the information contained on hers. At least most of it is benign-- like her profile states that she dislikes tomatoes.

Most of the information, like height and weight, could be found on Google. But Mariana never ate on a set. If she could get away with it, she wouldn’t eat at all. How would they know she doesn’t like tomatoes? It could have been an interview where she slipped up. She discards that idea. Her manager does all the talking for her. She has to keep up the ‘dumb foreigner’ act.

Her hand hovers over the doorknob. She just has to hold up the Monopad and go in. But then what? She had promised to help Akira, alongside Meijin and Nunosuke.

And Souta.

She’s happy to have him as an ally. At least, she’s relieved he’s not her enemy. After that meeting, it feels like he’s the one who was cut open to expose his organs, forcing her to look. Even if he hypothetically stitched that back together and put on his ‘shy and awkward’ face, Mariana would always see more.

A small metal door slams. Yuko, the Ultimate Postmastress, locks the mailbox. She reaches through her mailbag and finds it empty. She adjusts her cap in a satisfied smile.

Her school uniform has been replaced with a brass-and-navy postman uniform. It would be like something out of a vintage postcard, but the starched trousers are forgone in favor of a navy skirt and tights. Yuko catches sight of Mariana and waves, jumping up and down.

“Mariana! Hey! Yoo-hoo!” Yuko calls out. “You got a letter!”

Relief floods through Mariana. “A letter? For me?”

“There’s one for everyone! Meijin’s inviting everyone to breakfast!” Yuko says. “He thinks it’s good for everyone to meet up!”

Mariana nearly runs over to open her mailbox. Inside is a simple hand-written card asking for her attendance. It’s signed with the kanji of Meijin’s name.

She tucks the card into her bra. You know, for safekeeping. “Okay! I’ll be there!” she says. Hopefully she can just get a smoothie or something without anyone noticing.

“Awesome!!” Yuko cheers, pumping her fist in the air. “Another successful delivery! I gotta make sure everyone else sees!”

Yuko takes off down the hallway so fast that it would make Chuya jealous. She finds Morihimo and catches up to him as he tries to flee. She latches onto his jester’s cap like a feral dog with lockjaw and he winds up dragging her along. How does that hat stay on?

Mariana shakes her head. Deliver a letter, feel happy, deliver another letter, rinse and repeat. If only life could be that easy for her.

\---

Mariana’s stomach growls as soon as she enters the cafeteria. The scent of bacon is thick in the air. Reiko and Nunosuke, both in aprons, walk in and out of the kitchen carrying massive trays full of pancakes and french toast.

She’s surprised to see Nunosuke at first, but he must have returned from watching Akira by now. Souta’s absence affirms this suspicion. Mariana gives him a quick wave, still meaning to thank him for washing her jacket, but he can only nod due to being hard at work.

Mariana then spots two things in succession: a garbage can piled high with burnt food and Meijin sitting alone. They’re probably related. Mariana surprises the small boy by sitting next to him. “Good morning!”

“Hey… I hope this idea wasn’t too stupid,” he says, grinning sheepishly. “I was going to surprise everyone with breakfast, too, but then it didn’t come out well.”

Mariana ruffles a hand through his brown mop of hair. “You did your best, right? That’s what counts! So, you know, it wasn’t a stupid idea! I think I’ve heard somewhere that people bond when they eat together.”

“That was my plan.” A little bit of confidence returns to Meijin’s tone. “I think we should avoid losing anyone by making friends as much as we can. Afterward, I’d like to… maybe try out my plan and call for help at the vault door. We’re in the middle of Tokyo, so… if there’s any chance that people can hear us, maybe they’ll help us!”

She nods sagely, knowing entirely that nobody will ever come to help them, and that Monokuma will listen to their screams like a star athlete listens to uproarious applause. “We should definitely try! Maybe nobody knows!”

“Yeah!” The smile on Meijin’s face makes her fake enthusiasm worth it.

“WHO’S HUNGRY?” Touma booms from the kitchen. Reiko and Nunosuke continue to bring out massive trays of food. “Hope you all got some sleep last night! The budget could spring for a vault door and not a memory foam bed?! Sheesh! Talk about priorities!”

Meijin smiles sheepishly as Nunosuke serves him. Mariana waves the plates away.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Meijin asks, biting a piece of bacon. “We didn’t really eat anything yesterday that I remember… well, besides that smoothie.”

“Oh, I’m fine! Don’t worry about me! I just need to like… pick my food really carefully.” Mariana wills her stomach not to growl. “Since I’m a model, my manager helps me do this diet to stay in shape.”

“Are you sure? I’ll ask Touma to make you something special. Or I can make you a smoothie! Or, um, maybe I could learn about your diet so I can make you breakfast.” His earnest desire to please is both adorable and a little worrying. His widened eyes look like he’s terrified of causing disappointment. “Or, um…”

She lightly touches his hand, willing herself to ignore the sparks it sends through her. “You’re so sweet, but seriously, it’s okay! Really! Like, I usually just prepare myself some things because it’s such a pain for others. I don’t want to bother anyone else.”

“You wouldn’t bother me,” Meijin insists, but he doesn’t press it. “Maybe it’s for the best… I’m not much of a chef.”

“It’s totally fine! I mess stuff up all the time, like, you don’t even know. My Mom told me to never work behind her bar ‘cause I always knock stuff over with my boobs or butt.” Mariana laughs. “When you start cooking, um, it’s super easy to mess stuff up. Like I always use salt instead of sugar because they look the same.”

Meijin smiles weakly. “I’ve been cooking for a while, actually.”

“Oh, you have?” Hopefully she didn’t offend him.

“Yeah. I mean, my maid helps, but my parents are both really busy people.” Meijin continues as if Mariana’s jaw didn’t drop at the word ‘maid’. “I wanted special stuff, so I would cook on my own.”

“Well, it’s still really, really hard.” Mariana places her hand near his thigh, willing that he doesn’t hate her. “Super hard.”

He squirms. “I always follow the recipes and stuff, and usually it goes fine… but then some kind of freak accident happens… Like I look away for a second and the new toaster is on fire, or the eggs have baby chicks in them for some reason…”

“Whaaaaaaaat?” Mariana’s nose crinkles. “That’s possible?! Chickens hatch from them, but like… not eggs from the store, right? Oh my gosh, I wouldn’t know what to do!”

Meijin laughs it off. “It’s just how it is with me. I’m just glad that the smoothie wasn’t really poisoned because of my bad luck.” He looks down at his lap. “Not that it would have happened, but… well…”

“Well, you know, people say I’m blessed with… what’s the word?” She taps her lips. “Good fortune! Like with genetics? I think that’s how you say it. Maybe if I helped you cook, we could counteract each other and make something… okay!” Mariana holds up a peace sign. “I’m super good at heating things up, you know?”

He raises his eyebrows as if he’s never considered something like that before. He finally turns and looks at her. “Well, you do seem really lucky.” His cheeks redden, realizing what he’s suggesting. “I mean! It just seems like you have a lot of positive energy! I bet you could help, but I wouldn’t want to drag you down.”

“No! You wouldn’t drag me down at all! But… I don’t think I would mind if you did.” Mariana smiles mischievously. “But I think we should keep having these breakfasts so everyone can be friends, so... maybe I can help you next time?” 

Meijin’s hand-wringing stops all at once. He can’t stop a smile from coming to his face. “I think that would be great, partner.”

Between the word ‘partner’ and his smile, Mariana feels her stress fade away. It really feels as if she just rested eight full hours and is having breakfast with a room of friends, and she’s not locked in a school with a psychopathic teddy bear.

She tells Meijin she’ll be right back and strolls into the kitchen. Touma, wearing a hairnet and a “KISS THE COOK” apron, manages several pans at once while cracking jokes and telling stories to a disinterested Reiko. Her lack of reaction only seems to make him laugh harder. Mariana puts a few assorted berries on a small plate and heads back to Meijin.

Meijin frowns. “Is that all you’re eating?”

Mariana pops a berry into her mouth and tries to block out the scent of bacon. Her Mom would make massive breakfasts and then poke and pinch every bit of skin on Mariana’s body to tease her, saying she was getting “so big”. It makes her both nostalgic and miserable. “Don’t worry, it’s part of my diet! You’re supposed to eat light in the morning,” she lies, effortlessly. “It’s like, um, how athletes eat and stuff, too.”

His lips purse, but he doesn’t argue. The late students begin to trickle in. Kuro’s still wearing her ears and tail, but has replaced the uniform as well with outdoorsy clothes. She’s still got the oversized knee socks, though. Kuro walks up to the first willing ear- Hinako- and begins talking about measuring her lifelines to see if she has ghosts in her blood.

Ahoki eventually saulters in, still carrying the crowbar over her shoulder. She grabs a plate meant for someone else off of Reiko’s tray and sits alone.

Yusuke arrives in full makeup. He’s managed to hide the swelling and discoloration of his nose from Chuya’s accidental elbowing. He sits down at a crowded table and instantly not only joins the conversation with ease, but begins to lead it in a new direction. It’s like Mariana’s the only one who sees him slither. Chuya especially leans on the table and hangs onto his every word-- Mariana wonders if she should talk to her later.

Reiko tries to offer food to Hinako, but she declines. “I am a doll, so I do not eat,” she explains. Skinny legend, Mariana thinks.

Yuko runs in, showing off she delivered a letter to herself as well. She runs up to Meijin and salutes. “All letters delivered! Souta and Akira are in the Infirmary and won’t be joining! Akira’s condition is worsening because he keeps straining his wounds, even while bound to the operating table!”

Her chipper voice severely contradicts the severity of the subject matter. Meijin rubs his temples, apparently deep in thought.

Mariana looks around again. “Um, Yuko, I’m not doubting your amazing Postmastress abilities- you seriously deliver letters so fast while looking cute doing it- but did you deliver one to Morihimo in the end? He’s not here.”

Yuko looks around as if noticing that for the first time too. “That’s funny! Maybe he’s washing up since he dragged me all the way to the dumpster.”

“Huuuh? The dumpster? Did I hear the right word?” Mariana asks.

“Yep! The big thing that you throw trash into! And then it goes smoosh-smoosh in the truck and turned into a little block at the dump!” Yuko explains.

“Ohhh, that dumpster. I know that word because people call me a cum dumpster all the time.” Mariana nods as if she’s made a wise observation. “What was he doing in there?”

Yuko squishes her face with her hands. “Awawawah! So silly! What does ‘come dumpster’ even mean? Where are you telling it to go?” she says. “Even the amazing Yuko has no idea about that one, or why Morihimo was in the dumpster! I just wanted to make sure he would get the invitation, so I searched him out!”

“How did you find him in there?” Meijin asks.

“A Postmastress never reveals her secrets!” Yuko winks. “But also I heard him talking to himself.”

Talking to himself? Mariana drums her nails on the table as she thinks. During their interaction in the classroom, he used some kind of ventriloquism to have his drama mask talk. Maybe that was it? But for what audience?

“Report over on account of being super hungry!”

“Dismissed,” Meijin says. Yuko salutes again and skips off to get some food.

Meijin scans the room. He takes one last bite of his food before standing. “Lish me wuck--” He bites his tongue. “I- I mean, wish me luck!”

Mariana squishes her boobs together with her elbows as she holds up two thumbs up. “Good luck!” Hopefully the extra encouragement will help.

She watches as he walks up to the front of the cafeteria. The lively chatter continues until Yusuke notices him waiting. He holds up a gloved hand and snaps. The conversation dies instantly.

“Go ahead, Meijin.” Yusuke rests his chin on his gloved hand. Bitch, Mariana thinks.

“Right… good morning!” Meijin says. “Thank you all for coming to the breakfast meeting this morning. This will help us build trust with each other. The closer we are, the better we’ll work as a team.” He gestures to Touma and Reiko, who have finally taken their seats. “Thanks to Touma and Reiko for cooking this morning!”

A round of applause rings out. Touma puts on a stage smile that doesn’t meet his eyes. Reiko’s eyes never seem to betray a smile, but her surgical mask makes it hard to tell any expression at all.

“It was nothing,” Touma insists in his booming voice. “A man’s gotta eat, so a man’s gotta cook... Then Reiko showed up and started serving out portions of my breakfast!”

Some students chuckle. Meijin speaks up again. “It came out a lot better than what I tried to do. The power of teamwork, right?” he says. “Souta is working on taking care of Akira. Food will be brought to them later, for those who are concerned.”

“I ain’t concerned,” Ahoki says, tapping her crowbar on her shoulder. “The son of a bitch tried to hold two chicks hostage. And ain’t he the traitor or the mastermind or whatever the fuck? I say we bash his head in and end this.”

“We, uh, don’t know that,” Meijin says, shrinking back.

“What?” Mariana looks around. Nobody’s looking each other in the eye. “We can’t just kill someone, no matter what they did!”

Ahoki’s eyes narrow. “Then we kick his ass. He knows some shit we don’t. If we don’t teach him a fuckin’ lesson, he’s gonna go American and shoot all of us to death.”

To Mariana’s surprise, Meijin speaks up. “I… trust Akira, still. We shouldn’t hurt him. I mean, I think, he did bad, but you know--”

He’s silenced by a snap. Yusuke holds up a gloved hand.

“I concur that we shouldn’t resort to violence against Akira. But that does not mean he’s to be trusted,” Yusuke says, a serene smile on his face. “We’ve seen his violent outbursts twice-- first against Monokuma, second against Kuro and Mariana. Ahoki has a point in that he’s likely to strike again once he’s regained his strength.”

Meijin flinches. Mariana stands. “Um, isn’t it kind of more likely that people will target Akira, not the other way around? Wasn’t he outed as not being in our class? People probably think he’s the traitor, and he’s hurt and restrained, so…”

“Th-that’s right,” Meijin says. “And even though he’s not a student in our class, that doesn’t mean we should think he’s the traitor.”

Reiko speaks next. “Did he not claim that he has to kill the traitor? Regardless of Akira’s intent, if we believe he knows more than us, perhaps killing the odd student out is the only way out.”

Mariana feels like she’s entered a world where logic doesn’t apply. “That would be the only way out that Monokuma wants us to see!” She holds out her hands. “Like, is this a discussion we’re really having?”

“You’re becoming hysterical.” Yusuke maintains that damned cordial smile. “Mariana. I do not know how things operate where you’re from, but here, we discuss serious matters through at length. Every possibility must be explored.”

“She’s upset because we’re talking about someone’s life.” Meijin’s tone of voice has lowered.

She holds out a hand to stop him. “It’s, like, okay. I’m totally being the stupid one here for not wanting to consider the idea that we should kill someone. Clearly that’s the rational and great way you all do things here in Japan. And allowing that to happen, like, doesn’t mean you’re allowing corruption to go on with your silence!”

The students stare down at their plates. Kokoro puts down her notebook and finally speaks up. “I would like to suggest that… this is part of the ‘game’. The information regarding the number of desks could have been a deliberately manipulated variable… since any number of changes have been made to the school. Furthermore… the video tape did not say who the traitor is, making it suspicious. It almost seems to be there just to make us paranoid.”

Her words are familiar to Mariana. Morihimo also said that the only clues that could be found are ones that Monokuma wanted them to find. But what else is there to do? Give up?

“If we just agree to not trust anything we find, we’ll never find a way out,” Meijin says, as if reading her mind.

“Pardon me, but does that not cast more aspersions upon Sir Akira?” Hinako asks.

“Unless maybe the traitor is one of us, and Akira’s a red herring,” Touma says.

Kuro raises her hand, which is riddled with ghost-blood-detecting lines. “But, um, didn’t Akira say something like… ‘we’re not doing this again’? It sounds like he’s done a killing game before. Who else other than a mole or the Mastermind would do that?”

“Guys, um, I know I’m overreacting,” Mariana says, “but we’ll never know what he knows if he’s dead, riiiight? So… isn’t it better not to kill him or beat him up or whatever? He’s forgotten some stuff, but maybe it’s like… he could help us… like any other person.”

“I think she’s right. We need to prove to him that he can trust us. We’re going to need everyone if we want to get out of here,” Meijin says.

“Akira was unconscious when I was dismissed by Souta,” Nunosuke says. “He may be lapsing in and out of sleep due to the stress and physical strain. We should not upset him.”

Mariana looks around. The students seem to be split. Ahoki’s chewing bubblegum and popping bubbles as if she stopped listening several minutes ago. Chuya sits close to Yusuke’s side. Kuro’s shivering.

Yusuke seems to have made the same calculations. For a rueful moment, his and Mariana’s eyes meet. It’s like he’s trying to pry open her soul with a stare. She winks and holds up a peace sign.

“Right. I see we are still undecided on how to proceed with Akira,” Yusuke says. “I appreciate the honest and thoughtful dialogue that we’ve had so far.

“Thanks to everyone. Let’s, um, keep it going.” Meijin tries to smile. “Does anyone have any new findings since our last meeting?”

Silence falls over the room. Mariana takes a breath. What’s she supposed to say? That she found a creepy disembodied hand and it opened up some kind of hidden passage? That she entered a talent lab for Souta and he said he wanted to dissect her?

“Um… Monokuma pulled a weird prank on me and Souta, and it opened up a hidden passage in the hallway to our talent labs… which are places we can practice our Ultimate talents.”

She had completely forgotten that there was a lab with her picture on it, too. After experiencing Souta’s, she just wanted to be far away from the concept of a ‘talent lab’.

“I didn’t check out mine yet! But Souta’s was, um, very unique. I think.” Mariana taps her lips in thought. “There were only those two, though.”

“What were you and Souta up to?” Kuro asks, leaning forward.

Mariana’s breath hitches in her throat. Meijin interjects. “Oh, that’s where you guys were! I couldn’t find you in the infirmary. I wound up coming here instead,” he says. “If Monokuma pulled a prank on you, it can’t be helped.”

“Right. We were on our way to the infirmary. I just forgot the word,” Mariana laughs, putting a hand to her chest.

“I wonder… Monokuma only opened the labs for you two…? It could be assumed we all have our own somewhere…” Kokoro scribbles notes into her notebook. She chews the end of her pencil when done. “Do we have to ‘earn’ them? What kind of prank was it?”

“Um…”

“It wasn’t a prank!” Monokuma says.

Mariana nearly jumps out of her seat from shock. How can he just appear from nowhere like that?

“Aaaaah! It’s that weird dog thing!” Chuya cries.

“How dare you! I’m a bear, not a dog! Do I look like Monowanko to you?!” Monokuma snaps. “As I was saying, it was no prank! They stumbled across one of my… special janitors, and since they were so nice, I decided to give them a little reward!”

“Special… janitors?” Meijin asks.

“Do you think I bothered to clean up Akira’s blood in the gymnasium? Why would the Headmaster bother with stuff like that when he could hire subordinates to do that?” Monokuma scoffs.

“There are other people in the school with us!” Yuko gasps. “Like, staff members?! I thought we were locked in by ourselves!”

“Well… calling them ‘people’ is a little bit of a stretch,” Monokuma giggles. “Maybe if you glued enough of them together.”

“Monokuma, we are accepting of all people here. Even foreigners like Mariana,” Yusuke says.

“I think your mind jumped to that conclusion yourself! Wonder what that says about you?” Monokuma says. “Fine! Seeing is believing! But keep in mind that you must treat these janitors with the same respect you would treat me! Meet Handy!”

A disembodied hand crawls into the room. Yuko shrieks and jumps onto the table. Kuro snaps several pictures. Students react with a mix of shock and disgust.

“What… the hell is that fuckin’ thing?” Ahoki asks.

“It’s Handy! Well, one of them!” Monokuma pets the hand like a cat. “They’re my employees! Running a killing game is a lot of work, you know!” He wags a finger. “To answer Yuko’s assumption, no, there’s nobody else in here. You students are locked in here by yourselves. The handypeople and I are here to keep things running smoothly.”

“I see. They must be autonomous and artificial beings, such as myself,” Hinako says. She taps her wooden fingers on the table. “Headmaster Monokuma is too sophisticated to be a mere ‘doll’ such as myself, but these may be dolls.”

“You mean… Robots?” Touma asks.

Mariana wants to believe that, but when she touched the Handy, it felt warm and fleshy. Like a real person’s hand. She was afraid to grip it any tighter and feel muscle and bone.

“Call them what you will! Just don’t call them late for dinner!” Monokuma somehow produces a rimshot sound effect. “Just kidding! They don’t eat. Or sleep. Or get ‘paid’, per se…”

“So they’re slaves,” Yusuke says.

“Again, your mind jumped to that!” Monokuma says. “Do I need to make our first semester’s class Racial Sensitivity Training 101?”

Mariana smirks with satisfaction as a vein bulges in Yusuke’s neck.

“But… they kind of are…” Kuro’s eyes are sparkling. She crawls on her hands and knees up to the Handy, clicking her teeth. She holds out a fist facing palm-up to it as if approaching an unfamiliar dog. “Don’t be shy… come here lil’ guy…”

“What are you doing?” Meijin asks.

Kuro shushes him. “I’m trying to get it as a pet.”

Monokuma snatches up the Handy. “Not for adoption! Jeez! You kids are insane!” he says, as Kuro reaches out pitifully for the Handy. “Why did I even come out here… besides the fact that you all missed my smiling face?”

“Because the prank is over and you’re letting us go?” Yuko asks, hopefully.

“Oh, yeah. That was it,” Monokuma says.

Yuko cheers. “YAHOO! Oh my gosh!! Yes!!! YES!!! Really?!”

“No,” Monokuma says. “Of course not.”

Yuko deflates like a punctured balloon. She slumps back in her seat, pouting.

Monokuma giggles. “What I actually came here for is to give you dummies back your Monopads!” He pulls out three tablets and gives them to Yuko, Touma, and Ahoki.

“Where was he keeping those?” Touma asks. Monokuma doesn’t answer.

“Yuck… I don’t want it…” Yuko slumps further.

“Keep your shit,” Ahoki snarls.

“Then you can die of exhaustion!” Monokuma snaps. “I’m trying to be nice to you little brats! I gave you luxury dorms and top-of-the-line electronics! Instead you morons are sleeping in dumpsters and leaving the tablets around like garbage! A little miscreant went ahead and stole them!”

Mariana leans forward. She thinks back to Yuko’s words-- Morihimo had been in the dumpster. But why in the world would he spend the whole night?

“So what? Is it stealing if some moron took it after I threw this piece of shit in the trash?” Ahoki grinds her teeth.

“Yes! You’re Ultimate Students! You have images to uphold!” Monokuma yells. “I’m adding new school rules just to keep you brats in line!”

The tablets vibrate. Mariana finds the new rules added:

  
9\. Students may not steal Monopads that are being used by other students.

10\. Students may only sleep in their own dorm. To sleep anywhere else will be considered ‘sleeping in class’ and will result in punishment.

“Whew! That should be enough of a deterrent… but I’ve also updated their security!” Monokuma says. “From now on, these Monopads need your fingerprint to use!”

“Oh, dear,” Hinako says, looking at her wooden fingers.

“If I may ask… why?” Kokoro asks. “They all seem to contain the same information…”

Monokuma sweats. “Well… it’s extra protection... As your mentor, I have to do everything I can to stop you all from having… it.”

“Huh? Having what?” Touma asks. “Serotonin?”

“No!” Monokuma snaps. His face flushes red. “From having… you know… having…”

“Yo, if we were gonna fuck, we don’t gotta go to a dorm to do it,” Ahoki says.

Monokuma slams his furry paws on the table. “NO!” he screams. “Absolutely not! It’s barely been a day and you little rascals are already thinking about sex! The only ‘beast’ that Kuro reports on is the one with two backs! Nunosuke only cares about your clothes so long as they’re on the floor!”

“I would never allow clothing to be thrown on the floor. They must be hung up or folded properly,” Nunosuke says.

“Forget it!” Monokuma throws his hands in the air. “I just remembered why I don’t visit you morons more often! Call me when one of you is dead!”

With that, Monokuma and the Handy are gone.

“What is ‘sex’?” Hinako asks.

Touma parts his lips to crack a joke and Reiko immediately slaps her hand over his mouth to silence him. After an awkward moment, Yusuke stands. “This has been… illuminating, but I’m afraid I have other matters to attend.”

“Wait!” Meijin says. “I didn’t get to the main point! My plan to call for help--”

“Meijin, with all due respect, how could anyone not know what’s happening in here?” Yusuke says. Meijin flinches again. “All of you who wish to follow Meijin’s plan, feel free to remain. All those who wish to try and speak to Akira, come with me.”

Yusuke turns to Mariana. She would have been less insulted if he glared, like he did to Meijin, but he just gives that damned smile. “And do not worry. I will see that no harm comes to him. We simply must gather information.”

The air is thick with tension. After a moment, Kuro, Chuya, Hinako, Nunosuke, Kokoro, and Reiko stand up and follow Yusuke. Meijin’s group is left with himself, Mariana, Touma, Yuko, and Ahoki.

Morihimo is absent. She makes a note to check the dumpster later, if only to tell him that he’ll die if he falls asleep in there.

Several of the students following Yusuke notice Mariana’s sharp stare as they leave. A few of them offer excuses.

“I must ensure no harm comes to Akira,” Nunosuke says.

“I cannot raise my voice very well,” Hinako says.

She really couldn’t care less. All that matters is that Yusuke is out of her sight.

Meijin looks around at the group that remains. “Um… well, we still need to try,” he says.

“No prob! I can raise my voice enough for like FIVE people!” Touma yells.

Ahoki snorts. “Too bad seven left.”

\------

Mariana’s throat is sore. It hurts to swallow. She's used to it, but not like this.

Meijin turns to her, his voice just as hoarse. “Someone has to have heard us, right…? Future Point is right in the middle of Tokyo.”

Touma punches the wall, causing Meijin to jump. “Let’s face it,” he says, a tight grin on his face, “this hasn’t done shit.”

“Umm… maybe we could slide a letter under the door?” Yuko says, tapping her fingers together.

Ahoki shakes her head. “C’mon, this little fucker knew this plan wouldn’t work from the start. Why else would he try to get us to ‘trust’ each other as if we were never gonna leave?” She leverages her height against Meijin, looming over him. “And did he ever think we can’t hear from fuckin’ outside, either?”

Meijin finds himself backing up against the wall. “I thought, well, it was worth a try--”

Mariana cuts between Meijin and Ahoki, looking her in the eye. “All you’ve done is be rude and aggressive. At least Meijin is trying to help. What have you done to help anyone besides yourself?”

Touma whistles. “Catfight.”

But even Touma’s grin fades as Ahoki raises her crowbar and bares her sharpened teeth. “Shut your whore mouth!” she snaps, her voice also raspy. “All we have to do to get out of here is to off one person? If you all are too fuckin’ goody-two-shoes, then let me be the bitch everyone hates and do it! I nominate this little cunt!”

“If you want to kill someone so bad, kill me!” Mariana snaps. “What’s the problem? Afraid to pick on someone who’s not a foot shorter than you? Afraid to fight someone who could fight back?”

Mariana holds out her arms to either side. Meijin’s buried his face in his hands. Touma and Yuko are frozen. Ahoki’s arms are shaking.

Someone bursts out into laughter. Everyone turns to see Monokuma rolling on the floor, holding his stomach as he howls.

“Darn! I interrupted the good part!” Monokuma says, standing himself up. “Please, by all means, go on!”

Ahoki lowers the crowbar and points it at Monokuma instead. “Fuck off already. You were just sayin’ you hate seein’ us. Want me to pry your fuckin’ eyes out so you don’t have to?”

“I’ll take a page from Mariana’s book! Just try and lay a finger on me! Go ahead, hit me!" Monokuma sings. “Except, I don’t know if it will work out as well… you could go ask Akira for tips!”

Touma, brow still furrowed, puts on a strained smile. “Look, let’s cut our losses and just move on. All we’re accomplishing by playing out this little scene here is making this wretch happy. So let’s stop it. Capiche?”

Yuko points at Monokuma. “Why are you doing this?”

Monokuma cocks his head. “Huh? What do you mean? Laughing at your pathetic faces?”

“No!” Yuko says. “Why did you lock us in here? Why do you want us to kill each other, huh?! You never told us why! What do you want? Money? Are we hostages?”

A beat passes before Monokuma’s rolling on the floor again, absolutely guffawing. “Ahahahaha! ‘Money’! If only the rakugoka could be this funny!” he says, kicking his little legs. “No, no. There’s only one thing I want from you.”

In an instant, his mirth vanishes. The air drops in temperature.

“I want to give you all what you deserve. Despair. Pure, unadulterated hopelessness.” His jagged grin grows wider. “Look at you spoiled little worms, already fighting! Soon enough, one of you will crack. You’ll remember that the true way out of here is just one itty-bitty murder. And then despair will start a fire that can never be extinguished.”

“We’re not killing anyone,” Mariana says, firmly. “What we ‘deserve’? For what? We wouldn’t be fighting if you didn’t lock us here. And you think we’re ‘worms’? It’s like…. You’re the one who impaled us on a fishing hook, and now you’re laughing at us for squirming.”

“I love the wordplay. So sophisticated. Are you using Duolingo?” Monokuma giggles.

It’s enough to shut Mariana up, but she stays in her aggressive stance. Nobody else says a word. Monokuma sighs, turning his back to the students. “Listen. I’m not saying this one to taunt you. I mean this as a true, objective fact. Nobody cares that you’re here. Nobody will come to save you. Not your friends, not your family, not the police… nobody. Stop waiting for someone else to help you.”

He turns his head just enough that only his red eye is visible. “Try helping yourselves for once.”

Monokuma turns a corner and vanishes. Mariana takes deep breaths to calm herself. Their screaming from earlier still rings in her ears.

Touma is the first to speak. “Do you think Build-A-Bear will take a return on that bitch?”

“I don’t think he came from there,” Yuko mumbles.

“It’s a joke,” Touma snaps, turning around. “I’m gonna talk to Akira. Try and make my dumb, worm-like self useful. Anyone’s free to come with, or stay here and kill each other. Surprise me."

Meijin reaches out. “Wait, Touma--”

“Meijin, I know this is ironic coming from the big mouth here, but shut up.” Touma has a strained smile on his face. “Your plan failed, alright? Be a man and admit you screwed up with this idea. Sorry, not sorry.”

With that, he storms off.

Yuko tugs on her hat. “I’m… gonna try writing a letter! I’ll definitely find a way to deliver it outside, somehow!”

Their footsteps echo in the hallways. Ahoki speaks next. “Don’t fuck with me,” she warns. “Listen to me, bimbo. Fuck with me again and I’ll pop your implants and send you back wherever you came from.”

Ahoki storms off. Mariana shouts after her. “You won’t, you fucking coward!"

She forces her anger to take a backseat. She sits down next to Meijin. His expression is just blank.

It feels beyond redundant to ask, ‘what’s wrong?’. She doesn’t have any comforting words. She just stares at the wall, a fire burning inside her.

Maybe it’s her fault for letting him go through with this plan. She should have tried to stop it.

Maybe she should have provoked Ahoki to kill her. It’s not like she had any other way to help everyone get out.

Her mind is full of ‘maybes’ that she can’t answer. Mariana tries to shut some of them up by accepting this as their fault. She finds that, somehow, most things are.

Finally, Meijin speaks. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run that plan."

"At least you tried." Mariana can't keep the anger from creeping back into her tone.

“I should just be a man. Like Touma said.” He hugs himself. “Be a man… I should have protected you when Ahoki...” he trails off. 

“It’s not your fight.”

They sit in silence. Meijin catches his breath.

"She's scared," Meijin says, eyes downcast. "I can't blame Ahoki for being scared and upset. I think that she's hurting a lot."

"We all are," she says, her voice soft but firm. "But we're trying to keep people together. Just because you're upset doesn't mean you have to hurt others."

Meijin nods. He seems to think this over for a moment. Mariana takes a few deep breaths.

"Um, sorry. I'm not mad at you," she says.

"Thank you for protecting me." Meijin looks her in the eye. He doesn't seem sharp and sure of himself anymore; she has to wonder how much of that bravado is an act. "I just froze up. When… someone in my life used to get mad and take it out on me, I could only stand there and take it or I would make things worse. She would get more upset."

Mariana puts her hand on his shoulder. "I, um, know the feeling. I've had times like that. Your mind just goes blank, you know?"

He seems both relieved and worried that she empathizes. "Yeah… it does. And… ‘be a man’ is what she would say a lot. I just froze."

She rubs his shoulder soothingly. "I don't think you did anything bad. I just couldn't stand there and let it happen. I'm not trying to pick fights because I'm foreign, but they must think that…"

His fists clench. "I won't let them blame you if I can help it. That's not fair. Ahoki clearly started it."

"Well, things aren't always fair," she says, shortly. "Um. Thank you, I mean. But don't worry about it."

They sit in silence together. Mariana isn't a mind reader, but she imagines that he's trying to arrange people in his head like pieces on a shogi board. Mariana has long since learned it's not that simple.

"Didn’t you have another idea? About bringing breakfast to students..." Mariana says. She thinks that being useful will cheer them up.

He does perk up. "To Souta and Nunosuke! Yeah, you're right. I'll pack a little of everything for both of them."

Both of them stand up. Meijin looks at her. "Mariana?"

"What's up?"

He smiles. "Thanks, partner."

She smiles back, warmth radiating from her chest. “Anytime!”

\---

Mariana walks out of the infirmary.

“Any luck?” Meijin asks.

She shrugs. Nunosuke, following her out, answers for her. “It’s the same as with the others. Akira has only given the silent treatment.”

Souta checks his Monopad. “Meijin, if you want to speak with him, you’ll have to be the last visitor for the rest of the day… heh. The patient has had a lot of visiting time and will need his bandages changed soon...” He puts the tablet aside and picks up a stack of notes. “Remain mindful of the five minute time limit… and remember that Nunosuke will be there as a guard.”

“Right. It was my idea to try and get him to trust us… so I’ll try.”

Nunosuke holds open the door and Meijin walks in. Not much time has passed since Meijin last saw Akira, but it seems like it might as well have been years. Even though Akira’s injury has been consistently treated, his dark circles and bloodshot eyes betray a sense of torture. He’s restrained to the operating table by leather straps, his arms and legs tightly by his sides.

Meijin approaches Akira. Nunosuke stands on the other side of the operating table.

\---

In the hallway, Mariana curls her hair around her finger. “Um… Souta, have you gotten a chance to rest at all?”

Souta continues flipping through his papers. Mariana spots medical diagrams. The breakfast that Meijin brought had been put aside and forgotten. “I’ve had coffee… that’s enough.”

“Whaaat? Coffee can’t keep you going forever! You need to at least eat something to keep your energy up!” The hypocrisy of her words doesn’t escape her.

“As soon as Meijin is done…” Souta stares at a page that Mariana can’t see from her spot across from him.

“I mean, if it’s Brazilian Coffee, I might give you a pass… since it’s so yummy and all. All things Brazilian taste better.” She winks.

Souta doesn’t look up. “Oh… I usually drink whatever’s cheap and available.”

“Cheap and available? Not the words I prefer, but I’ve definitely heard them. Haven’t you ever tasted a smooth dark roast?” 

Souta’s preoccupied with the page. Every so often he flicks his eyes up to her. She quickly walks around him so she can see the page and peers over his shoulder. Below the medical notes are what looks like a personal journal full of illustrations. One with particular care, taking up most of the page, depicts a buxom foreign woman. She has wavy brown hair with a heart-shaped strand that always sticks out on top.

Seems like he has been envisioning a smooth dark roast. But there’s one modification: the familiar girl in the drawing is covered in stitches and surgery scars. It’s like something out of Bride of Frankenstein.

Mariana has less than a second to scan the image before Souta hides it, but she’s seen herself often enough in photoshoots. She knows what she looks like. “You can draw? That’s so cool! It’s super good!”

“Ah… i-it’s just a hobby… it helps my memory to illustrate my journals…” He returns to a medical diagram.

“Can I see another?”

His knuckles go white. He flips to another page. A similar drawing, but nude. Close to the real thing, except for the gaping chasm exposing her internal organs.

“Wooow… that’s so detailed! I guess the inside can be kinda cute!” Mariana tries to giggle. “I don’t want to seem full of myself, buuut… she looks kinda like me, doesn’t she?”

“Is that so? Wh-what a coincidence--”

“The other one, too! See that strand of hair?”

He flips back to the diagram, hands trembling. She brushes her arm against his. “It’s okay! You can draw me if you want! It’s very sweet! But I don’t think I can have all that done to me.” There’s a tightness in her throat. “I can model for you if you want to draw me again, though. I can hold poses for a long time!”

“I wouldn’t ask you to do that… just to be nice…”

“No way! It’s my thing!”

His words come out inaudible. Then he falls silent. She pokes him on the nose, which jolts him as if lightning struck. “You’d better not kill anyone, you know? You’d be found right out if you did,” she says. The joy has drained from her voice.

“I… I wasn’t planning on it… You don’t think I would… kill… do you?”

She puts her smile back on. He could have easily killed her in his lab. But he seems upset enough. “No! I mean, isn’t that what doctors swear not to do when they become doctors?” she asks. She struggles for a moment to think of the right words. “I mean, we had a hangout sesh in your lab! I, um, can tell you have a good heart.”

“I see… so you trust me…” He lets out a chuckle.

“Right! We’re friends, aren’t we?” She pats his head, avoiding the prosthetic horn.

His chapped lips spread in a smile. “Yes… we are.”

“I can tell you’ve done a lot of work for Akira. That makes me feel safer. But I’m… scared, to be honest with you.” She returns to curling her hair around her finger. “Souta, um… do you think I would kill anyone?”

“I don’t think so. You could get what you wanted easily… but I don’t think you would misuse that power,” Souta says. “You must have been testing me earlier to see if I’m trustworthy… right? It’s okay. I don’t deserve to be trusted.”

She stops. Her hair uncurls from her finger. “Um, I was serious about what I said, but… I guess. The lab and the, um, transplants in the ice box gave me some questions. But they’ve been answered.” She doesn’t linger on his self-doubt. “Listen, Souta. If someone accused me of murder, would you believe I was innocent?”

“Did you do something… questionable?” He giggles. “I kid, I kid… but I would believe you. If there was no hard evidence, I would defend you. Even if there was… I might lie for you… even if you did it, I mean. Not that you would…”

Mariana hugs herself. “Thanks. I didn’t do anything, just… there are some people who haven’t done anything wrong but still get accused and sent to jail. Even if nothing bad happens, I wanted to know you’d be on my side.”

He presses his bony hand to her arm. It’s cold as ice. “You don’t need to worry… I would stand with you.”

She rests her hand over his, making him wince. He doesn’t seem used to physical contact. “I’m lucky, then. Thank you, truly.”

A pause. “Is there a reason you think you will be accused…?”

A gavel slams. She jumps, but Souta doesn’t respond. Images flash through her mind: the police officer’s chin juts out when he’s mad. Her mom holds her close when the verdict is declared.

“Mariana…?” he asks.

“Sorry, um… my dad is… in jail. But he didn’t do it. The officer arrested him because he was a foreign man on the crime scene, even if he was the one who called the police for help… and there’s a 99% conviction rate. My family is poor, so… he had no chance.”

Her fists clench. She releases Souta’s hand before she breaks it. “I was his alibi. They wouldn’t listen to me. And it’s probably going to happen again. Because it’s easy to assume the worst about someone who doesn’t look like you. People would avoid me because they thought I would be a murderer-- whether or not they knew the story about my dad.”

“Oh, Mariana… I am so sorry.” He pauses, as if thinking over his words carefully. “I know how it feels to be judged based on your appearance… it hurts. But… we are all the same inside. When it comes down to it… the ‘real’ you is the central nervous system…”

Her chest feels hollow. Of course she couldn’t expect him to understand-- nobody would. The closest he could understand racism is someone judging his body modifications.

She forces herself to suck it up and smile, as always. “Thanks, Souta.” 

They’re the last words she can manage before the world falls apart. A cacophony of noise breaks out from the infirmary as dozens of medical tools are knocked over. The doors fly open and slam against the wall, rattling the foundation of the school. Something sprints past her in a blur. The air smells thick with sweat and blood. She stumbles back as Nunosuke nearly runs her over in hot pursuit. Meijin stands frozen in the infirmary.

Souta runs into the infirmary and kneels before his toppled operating table. The leather straps are unfastened. Medicine and bandages litter the floor. A moment later, Nunosuke returns, breathing heavily.

“I couldn’t catch him… and he almost certainly strained himself. I am sorry.” Nunosuke bows deeply in apology.

“What happened?” Souta asks. He tries to scoop up pills and pour them back into bottles, his fingers trembling. He looks between Meijin and Nunosuke pleadingly.

Meijin holds out his hands in self defense. “I didn’t do anything! I just--”

“Meijin spoke to Akira for several minutes,” Nunosuke said. “Akira asked me for some water. His voice sounded hoarse. I thought he was finally ready to speak, so I foolishly turned to get him water. In that moment…”

“He just got up and fled,” Meijin concludes.

Mariana can’t stop herself; she rubs Meijin’s back soothingly. “It’s okay. Is anybody hurt?”

“Besides the person with the gunshot wound who refuses regular treatment?” Souta says. “It doesn’t seem so.” He sucks in breath through clenched teeth. “Apologies… I just do not want him to harm himself or others…”

“He locked himself in his dorm, I believe,” Nunosuke says.

Souta shakes his head. “He might be safe there… until he needs to have his bandages changed… if he ruptured his stitches, it may lead to a collapsed lung…"

Nunosuke squats down next to Souta and examines the leather straps. “The restraints are not torn. Someone must have unfastened them.”

“I didn’t,” Meijin insists. “All of a sudden he just… got up.”

Souta frowns. “Well… Someone had to.”

“Just because he was the only other person in the room doesn’t mean it was him.” Mariana pulls Meijin close and squishes him into her side. Meijin squeaks. “Liiike, I dunno… maybe he wasn’t restrained properly, or his restraints came loose at some point, and he was waiting for an opening.”

Souta shrinks back. “I always try to take my restraints seriously…”

Mariana didn’t mean for that to come out aggressively. She feels a bit guilty, but… they were blaming Meijin. “Did anything else, um, odd happen during the visits?”

Nunosuke strokes his chin. “Allow me to think… During Morihimo’s visit, he tried to sit down with Akira…”

“Morihimo? He visited?”

“He did, briefly. I do not believe he liked that I was here to monitor things. During Reiko’s visit, she performed an extensive prayer for Akira… but I do not think her actions were worthy of suspicion.”

“Why not?”

Nunosuke looks away. “I just would not suspect her.”

Mariana wants to tease him a little, but her mind is whirring. “Um, did anything else weird happen?”

“During Touma’s visit, he told many humorous stories… Akira did not laugh, but one of them tickled me. I found myself laughing so hard that I doubled over.”

Probably nothing else, then. “Really? I bet you have a really nice laugh and a super cute smile. I’d love to see them sometime.” She puts on a smile of her own.

Nunosuke responds with complete stoicism. “I will keep it in mind.”

"I'm going to gather some painkillers and other supplies. If he won't let me into his dorm to treat him, perhaps he will take the supplies if I leave them outside his door," Souta says.

Mariana isn't sure why he would trust Souta when he was the one who tied him down to begin with. But she doesn't voice the thought. "That's a good idea. I dont want anything to happen to him."

Before long, Souta is gone. Mariana realizes she's been holding Meijin tight in her side and lets the red-faced boy go.

"Mariana. Meijin. I apologize for my accusatory tone," Nunosuke says, bowing again. "It was my fault for turning my attention away."

Meijin shakes his head. "It was probably my fault."

"Huh? What?" Mariana asks. "But you said you didn't…"

"I didn't," Meijin says. He shifts his weight on his feet. "But for a long time, I've had really bad luck. During my first championship match, I was playing against an old man. A highly praised shogi master who hadn’t lost in years. I was sweating bullets.”

His hands are shaking. “I still remember how I felt when I sat across from him. Strategies were running through my mind… and I hadn’t made my first move when he clutched his chest. He suffered a heart attack. They tried to save him, but he was dead before the ambulance came. Apparently, I won by default.”

Nunosuke's stony features soften. "That is not your fault--"

"It happened three more times."

Silence. Meijin takes a shaky breath. "Playing against me was a death sentence. I gained the nickname 'The Cursed General' because my luck causes things to go horribly for people around me. I bet that it's because I got close that Akira was able to get free."

"Meijin…" Mariana reaches out to his shoulder again. He flinches as if he expects her to burst into flames upon contact, but she just feels pleasantly warm. "I don't think that could be it. None of that was your fault."

"Please forgive my bluntness, but I do not believe in luck or fate," Nunosuke says. "I believe in the value of people's personal decisions. So long as you did not consciously free Akira, I will not hold you accountable."

He smiles faintly. "Thanks, guys."

"Besides, like, burning some food, that's the only bad thing that's happened that you could possibly blame your luck on. And I won't accept that any of this-" she gestures to the school around her, "- is your fault. I know you’re going to get us all out of here alive, just like how you’ve won games without losing any shogi pieces.”

His smile grows. "Yeah… thank you, Mariana. But we’ll do it as partners, okay?”

“You’ve done most of the work, but…” She curls her hair around her finger.

“You’ve helped neutralized my luck,” he says, chuckling slightly. “I usually try not to let my luck get me down." Meijin shifts topic, perking up. "I think I want to prioritize Akira's health rather than placing blame. I just… don’t want to suspect anyone like that. I'll bring him some food and water that he can bring into his dorm."

Mariana nods. "I can get him some supplies and stuff, ‘cause… they dont give you a whole lot. He probably wants to keep up that perfect eyeliner."

Meijin chuckles. "Okay. Let's meet up soon."

After he leaves, Mariana and Nunosuke linger. Mariana flicks her eyes over to him nervously, looking at him through her lashes.

“Um… thank you for washing my jacket.”

“It is no issue.”

There’s a pause. Mariana speaks again. “So, this is stupid probably, but… Morihimo was absent when we all shared our findings in the gymnasium yesterday, right?”

Nunosuke frowns. “Correct.”

“Well, Akira knew that I found out about the desks, but hadn’t told anyone… but I’m not smart enough to find stuff like that out on my own. I found Morihimo when I was looking for everyone, and… yeah.”

Nunosuke cocks his head. "I see. So you believe that Morihimo told Akira that you were withholding information from the class, causing him to become agitated.”

She laughs. “Gosh! I, like, wouldn’t put it so bluntly… I hadn’t thought of it all the way through like that. You’re so smart, Nunosuke! Brains and brawn.” She taps her head.

The compliment affects Nunosuke like water off a duck. “I do not know why Morhimo would seemingly assist you and then upset Akira, putting you and others into harm's way."

"If that’s the case, then, um… I don't know either. I don't want to suspect anyone either, ‘cause we’re all friends, but I just remembered that when you were talking about everyone who visited Akira. So…”

His brow furrows. "I did say that Morihimo tried to get close to him.”

She doesn't need to explain further. She wants to believe in everyone, just like Meijin. But if they want to prevent a death, then she'll be the pessimistic bitch if she has to.

“... Close to the restraints.” Nunosuke’s eyes narrow.

Once she parts ways with Nunosuke, she heads to the storage room to get supplies for Akira, as promised. She also makes a note to visit the dumpster. If she can find Morihimo, he has explaining to do.


	3. BONUS: Student IDs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to upload this earlier, sorry!

Mariana Lima  
  
Ultimate Model  
  
 **Height:** 6'2”   
  
**Weight:** 145 lbs (don’t tell anyone though!)  
  
 **Chest:** 40 inches  
  
 **Blood Type:** O  
  
 **DOB:** June 1st (Gemini)  
  
 **Likes:** Takoyaki, Dancing  
  
 **Dislikes:** Being told who she is, Tomatoes  
  
 **Appearance:** A tall, ethnically Brazilian young woman with long wavy hair and an ahoge that seems to curl into a heart. She has an hourglass figure and likes to show off. Her skin is a deep tan and she has chocolate brown eyes. 

\---  
  
Souta Igaku  
  
Ultimate Surgeon  
  
 **Height:** 5'10  
  
 **Weight:** 93 lbs  
  
 **DOB:** January 7 (Capricorn)  
  
 **Likes:** Journaling, Raising insects  
  
 **Dislikes:** Strictness, Judgemental types  
  
 **Appearance:** He has a mess of long black hair that fades into gray, with a white streak by his bangs. He has tattoos and piercings all over that look like long Frankenstein-esque scars. He wears a white lab coat with a black apron overtop, stuffed with 'medical' supplies. Long black rubber gloves protect his hands. He wears round pink glasses. Many of his outfits are stitched together to fit his extremely bony frame. He wears a metal leg brace on his right leg. 

\---  
  
Chuya Takahashi  
  
Ultimate Sprinter  
  
 **Height:** 7'2  
  
 **Weight:** 190 lbs  
  
 **DOB:** April 1st (Aries)   
  
**Likes:** Television dramas, Animals & Insects, Cute pens  
  
 **Dislikes:** Anime, Bullies  
  
 **Appearance:** Extremely tall, with exaggerated arms and legs. She has unkempt black hair and no eyebrows. Her hair is parted in the middle, but doesn't cover her ears. She tends to walk with a slouch. She wears skirts that are knee-length on her, but would be floor-length on others.   
  


\---

Kokoro Meiru

Ultimate Psychologist

 ** **Height:**** 5’4”

 **Weight:** 110 lbs 

**Chest:** 32 inches 

**Blood Type:** A

 **DOB:** September 9th (Virgo)

 **Likes:** Ink blots

 **Disl** **ikes:** Horoscopes, fried food

 **Appearance:** A young woman with white hair tied into a practical braid. She has round swirly glasses that conceal her eyes. She has on a jacket that’s divided vertically in half; whereas the left side is white, with black lines that resemble the pattern of a brain, the right half is an explosion of color and shapes and patterns that are hard to comprehend. It’s the most exaggerated part of her outfit, which otherwise is no-nonsense.

\---⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Meijin Gyokusho

Ultimate Lifetime Ryuuou

 **Height:** 5’3”

Weight: 108 lbs 

**Chest:** 34 inches 

**Blood Type:** AB

 **DOB:** February 14th (Aquarius) 

**Likes:** Ramen, smell of fresh cut grass

 **Dislikes:** Cheating, closed-mindedness 

**Appearance:** A short boy with messy brown hair (topped with a small ahoge), a baggy hoodie with a backwards _uma_ symbol and harem pants. His pale skin has freckles all over. 

\---⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Touma Watanabe

Ultimate Rakugoka

 **Height:** 5’7”

 **Weight:** 290 lbs 

**Chest:** 38 inches 

**Blood Type:** O

 **DOB:** July 30th (Leo)

 **Likes:** Anime, laughter

 **Dislikes:** Dress pants, tomatoes

 **Appearance:** Chubby and proud, he wears a loose-fitting yukata which is salmon with a yellow cross-hatching pattern. He wears thick-frame glasses and has short-cut black hair. On his collar, he wears golden pin shaped like a microphone.

\---⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Hinako Nodomo

Ultimate Doll

 **Height:** 5’0”

 **Weight:** 70 lbs 

**Chest:** 30 inches 

**Blood Type:** ???

 **DOB:** ???

 **Likes:** Wood varnish, porcelain

 **Dislikes** : Noise, cars

 **Appearance:** A human-sized wooden doll. She has glossy white eyes with white irises, a pink nose, and a mouth like a Nutcracker. She has bright green hair that’s tucked into a knot speared with two hairsticks that seem to intersect; at the end of each are strings that hang down, giving the impression of the controls of a marionette. She wears elaborate, flowery lolita fashion. Her wooden arms and legs have ball joints. 

\---⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Yuko Koibumi

Ultimate Postmaster (Postmistress!)

 **Height:** 5’2”

 **Weight:** 102 lbs 

**Chest:** 34 inches 

**Blood Type:** B

 **DOB:** Decembre 14th (Saggitarius) 

**Likes:** Cute stamps, romance

 **Dislikes** : Electronics

 **Appearance:** Yuko has a pink bobcut and pink eyes. She wears an old-timey, navy blue postman uniform with shiny brass buttons and a matching hat. The stiff navy trousers have been replaced with a black skirt and tights. She wears a promise ring on her left hand. 

\---⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Nunosuke Migurushi

Ultimate Clothier

 **Height:** 6’6”

 **Weight:** 250 lbs 

**Chest:** 44 inches 

**Blood Type:** A

 **DOB:** March 2nd (Pisces)

 **Likes:** Silence, punctuality

 **Dislikes:** Mirrors, tattoos

 **Appearance:** A tall, muscular young man. He’s not ripped like Nidai or Sakura; he’s more barrel-chested, with a lot of core muscle. He has a large jaw, bulging lips, an oversized nose, and comically large eyebrows. His unkempt hair is usually tied up. He’s considered scary and ugly by many people. His clothes are all handmade and exquisite; he’s never found not in a full suit with a cravat or necktie.

\---⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Reiko Mukami

Ultimate Shrine Maiden

 **Height:** 5’7”

 **Weight:** 140 lbs 

**Chest:** 36 inches 

**Blood Type:** AB

 **DOB:** December 30th (Capricorn)

 **Likes:** Incense, creating paintbrushes 

**Dislikes:** Short-grain rice, herself

 **Appearance:** Top 10 looks that would make you say “yep, it’s a shrine maiden.” She’s wearing the traditioanl white-and-red outfit and has her strawberry blonde hair back in a smart long ponytail, tied back with a white ribbon. She’s somewhat tall. She has a necklace with a magatama on it and wears a hospital mask.

\---⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Ahoki Warimari

Ultimate Hostess

 **Height:** 5’6”

 **Weight:** 130 lbs 

**Chest:** 38 inches 

**Blood Type:** O

 **DOB:** July 24th (Leo)

 **Likes:** Seltzer, gasoline

 **Dislikes:** Lateral thinking puzzles, old men

 **Appearance:** A sukeban, wearing a leather jacket emblazoned with gold leathering and studs over her old serafuku. The look might be more intimidating if it were an all-black school uniform rather than her serafuku being light pink, with a hot pink ribbon and skirt. She has bandages up and down her arms and legs, and one band-aid on her jawline. She wears fingerless gloves. She has a sharp glare and even sharper teeth.

\---⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Yusuke Oda

Ultimate Student Council President

 **Height:** 5’11”

 **Weight:** 132 lbs 

**Chest:** 32 inches 

**Blood Type:** AB

 **DOB:** May 24th (Gemini)

 **Likes:** Whistling of a tea kettle, calligraphy

 **Dislikes:** Disloyalty, laziness 

**Appearance:** A princely young man with wavy blue hair and a gold tiara. He has a blue armband that says ‘student council’ on it and a gold sash. He wears silk white gloves. He has a white cape. 

\---⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Morihimo Ashimo

Ultimate Jester

 **Height:** 5’3”

 **Weight:** 110 lbs 

**Chest:** 30 inches 

**Blood Type:** B

 **DOB:** October 31st (Scorpio) 

**Likes:** The long stories in recipe blogs, watching youtube videos at 2x speed

 **Dislikes:** Thinking

 **Appearance:** A jester wearing a full costume which includes an attached hat. His hat has three of the floppy pieces: one purple, one yellow, one pink; these are the theme colors to his diamond-patterned costume. He has one pink diamond and one purple diamond painted over his eyes. His features are sharp and angular. He has a drama mask that he carries around, depicting ‘comedy’, which oddly seems to change expressions along with him.

\---⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Kuro Shiroaka

Ultimate Supernatural Journalist

 **Height:** 4’9”

 **Weight:** 80 lbs 

**Chest:** 28 inches 

**Blood Type:** O

 **DOB:** April 21st (Taurus)

 **Likes:** Creepypasta, pulling all-nighters

 **Dislikes** : Cabinets, spooky sounds at 3 AM

 **Appearance:** A mousey little redhead girl with a bowl cut. She wears an outdoorsy vest with all sorts of patches and buttons overtop her school uniform. She's never seen without her wolf ear headband, wolf tail, and her oversized socks.

\---⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Akira Komura

Ultimate ???

 **Height:** 5’8”

Weight: 131 lbs 

**Chest:** 32 inches 

**Blood Type:** A

 **DOB:** July 5th (Cancer)

 **Likes:** Peas, bugs

 **Dislikes** : Seedless grapes

 **Appearance:** A young gentleman with perfect eyeliner and heavy bags to accentuate. He has striking blond hair and ashy pale skin. When he dresses himself, he prefers to wear a leather jacket, leather gloves, and all-black clothing. 


	4. Chapter 1 / Daily Life, Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exploring talent labs. Unlocking a locked room. The motive (finally).

DAY 2

TIME: AFTERNOON

An assortment had been left outside of Akira’s door: medical supplies, food, water, and makeup. Mariana had left the latter; she knows what’s really important here.

So far, Akira had been made to feel inhuman, either like a target or a disposable informant. He needs some normality. She also leaves him some nice shampoo and conditioner. If he plans to be locked up in that room for so long, the supplies that Monokuma had provided will run out fast.

“What to do next…” Meijin says. “You said those ‘talent labs’ opened up? Could I see one?”

She’s suddenly reminded that she hasn’t done more than glanced in hers yet. She’s been apprehensive ever since… experiencing Souta’s lab. “Yeah! You should come visit mine!”

“Great! Let’s go!”

Meijin helps her feel confident and not as all as if her hands are shaking when she opens her talent lab. What will be inside? Some metaphorical representation of her lies? A movie theater playing only her worst moments? Her Manager?

She pushes open the door and a wave of warm, salty air washes over her. She hears soft footsteps as Meijin walks from hard tile to soft sand. The inside of the room is just about covered with it, fluffy and white as flour. The walls are painted with tropical and oceanic murals. Prop palm trees dot the corners of the room.

Not all of the room is just a beach, however. To the left is a large vanity with lit-up mirrors. The vanity practically overflows with every type of beauty product imaginable. A Brazilian flag hangs suspended on the wall above it.

Cameras cover the right side of the room-- not security cameras, but ones she would recognize on the set of a photoshoot. She finds herself doing a little runway walk and the shutters click. It feels good. She likes being admired in this way, not watched through Monokuma’s ever-present eye.

Finally, she spots a walk-in closet. When she looks inside, she finds the shelves stuffed with designer outfits. It’s mercifully the only room so far that doesn’t have an obvious security camera somewhere.

Meijin slips off his shoes. His feet sink into the sand. “Wow… so this is what it’s like,” he says, the stress practically melting away from his tone. “I’ve never been to a real beach before.”

“Whaaaat? Really?” Mariana says, grinning. “No way! We, like, totally have to go! When we get out, I mean!”

“Yeah! A class trip would be awesome! I think we would all deserve it after this.”

Right. ‘Class’ trip. “Um, yeah! I love the beach, you know?” She throws up a peace sign. “I’m a beach babe. It’s my whole vibe.”

She continues looking around, checking her makeup in the vanity. “Since I live near the beach, me and my Mama go all the time. It makes her feel at home. Still, she says the beaches here can’t compare to Brazil’s.”

“Oh, really?”

Mariana opens a bottle of lipstick. “I think they’re both great, though!” she quickly adds.

Meijin picks up some sand, watching it slip through his fingers. “You said it makes her feel back at home. Do you not remember much about your time from Brazil?”

“Yeah, um, that’s right! I came here when I was a baby.”

“Then why would you say both beaches are good?”

She smudges her lipstick. Grimacing, she wipes off the mistake with a nearby makeup wipe.

“Unless your parents brought you to the beach in Brazil when you were very young,” Meijin says.

Mariana looks at his reflection with a stiff smile. “I dunno, um, maybe I said the wrong thing. I love both Brazil and Japan. My parents are both Brazilian. And I feel at home on the beach, you know?”

He breaks eye contact. “Sorry. I’m not trying to push you. I notice a lot of things that aren’t always relevant… a big part of shogi is trying to read your opponent.” He leans back, staring up at the ceiling. Rather than fluffy white clouds above, there’s just fluorescent lights. “Not that you’re an ‘opponent’... I’m sorry for being stupid.”

A pang of guilt strikes her. “You’re not stupid! That’s why you’re such a great shogi master, right? The Ultimate Lifetime Ryuuou!” She turns to him, smiling with her new red lipstick on. “It’s not like you’re just picking me apart. Last night, you said you think that I’m smarter than I let in on. And like, I get a lot of compliments from guys, but not about my intelligence.”

She gives a bitter laugh. “Not unless it’s like, ‘wooow! Your Japanese is so good! How long are you staying in Japan?’ or something.” She uses the type of voice one would use to speak to a dog.

“I think you’re really smart, Mariana. And really brave. You’ve helped keep us together. You were selfless and volunteered yourself to save Kuro. You believed in Akira with me. And you’ve stood by my side.”

He looks up at her with those big brown eyes, and all her breath is sucked away. “I would never think you’re just smart ‘for a foreigner’ or anything,” he says. “No matter when your family moved here, Japan is your home.”

“We didn’t move here.”

It slips out so naturally that it surprises even her. It feels like a weight is lifted off her chest. “My parents did move here from Brazil; that much is true. But I was born in Mie Prefecture. Japanese is my native language. I look different, though, so I’m treated as foreign everywhere. That comment I made earlier about my Japanse being ‘so good’ is something I hear all the time, but it’s my native language. It’s easier to just accept it rather than fight it.”

Mariana stares at the cameras. Suddenly repulsed, she turns away from them, looking at Meijin from the corner of her eye. “My manager decided to build on that to help sell my image: a fun and flirty foreigner. So please don’t tell anyone. I don’t think they’ll believe you, but… I could get in trouble for ‘breaking my contract’, saying this kind of stuff.”

“Thank you for telling me the truth, partner.”

Her heart jumps. He continues: “And… I’m sorry. I can’t imagine dealing with that kind of pain. You’re just as Japanese as I am, but nobody respects that. I would say you’re even a lot smarter than me, but I’ve heard people talk down to you because they assume you won’t understand.”

Meijin looks her in the eye and makes a motion as if he’s crossing his heart. “Your secret is safe with me, though. I promise you.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say I’m that great,” she says, tapping her fingernails together. “You get used to it eventually. But… thank you. I really appreciate that.”

“Um… I just don’t think it’s something you should have to live with ‘getting used to’,” Meijin says. “If you ever want to tell others, I’ll support you. But I won’t do or say anything about it otherwise.”

“Thanks, partner. I, like, don’t know if telling anyone will do anything right now. But I feel good knowing I have you on my side.”

The two enjoy the feeling of the warm sand. A hidden noisemaker mimics ocean waves lapping a sun-kissed shore. If Mariana closes her eyes, she can pretend there’s Sun on her face and fresh air in her lungs. 

In her mind, she imagines being on a beach back home. Meijin is by her side in her fantasy. She doesn’t try to imagine him on purpose-- it just feels natural.

She pictures Meijin in her mind’s eye. Since they were able to swap out the school uniforms, everyone had found their look. Touma had been wearing a yukata. Reiko immediately put on traditional shrine maiden clothing. Nunosuke wore a three-piece suit.

Meijin, though, had chosen a seemingly plain hoodie and harem pants. They suit him, especially with the cute hair clips to keep his curls out of his freckled face. Still, if his mentioning of a ‘maid’ is any indication, he probably comes from a rich family. Mariana would expect him to dress like her Manager, who flaunts all the cash she earns him.

“Aren’t you hot in that?” Mariana asks. “It’s super cute, don’t get me wrong! But I, at least, almost feel like I’m sweating in here. It’s like there’s heat lamps or something!”

“Nah. My Mom used to say I’m cold-blooded, like… a reptile or something,” he laughs. “I need to stay warm. Like, feel this.”

He reaches out and touches her arm. She yelps and jumps back. “Oh my god! Your fingers are freezing!”

They’re cold enough that, when he pulls back, her arm feels cold. She could get used to it, though. She wants to warm him right up. Meijin sticks his fingers in the sand. “Told ya.”

“No wonder you’re bundled up! I feel like we should find you some mittens and a hat. You look good in the winter fashion, I think,” Mariana says, nodding to herself. She can picture Meijin with rosy cheeks and snowflakes in his hair.

“It’s kind of odd. This hoodie is a really… particular one.” He draws the shape on the back in the sand. It’s uma, meaning horse, but backwards. “See? The backwards uma is good luck. You find it on merch and stuff for shogi. I won this hoodie during one of my early tournaments. They only made a few of them, so they’re hard to find.”

Mariana draws little faces in the sand along with him. “I was so surprised to find all the clothes they have stocked for us! It’s, like, kind of weird. But I’m glad I don’t have to just wear the uniform…”

“This place was definitely prepared for us,” Meijin says. “They probably have these labs for all of our class… somewhere, anyway.”

“They probably had different labs for past students here, right? I wonder how long it takes to prepare these.” She frowns. “They aren’t just basic labs for our talents. They’re, like, crafted to our personalities.”

She shivers thinking of Souta’s lab. Fortunately, Meijin just gestures to the Brazilian flag. “Looks like it. They got the whole beachy vibe here. I would have expected a runway for a model.”

“I don’t really get to do fashion shows,” she admits, curling her hair around her finger. “That’s, like, high-fashion stuff. I don’t think a lot of places think I’m sophisticated enough for that. So I do lots of magazine photoshoots.”

“Really? But you’re the Ultimate Model. That should prove all of those people wrong, shouldn’t it?”

“I think my manager is kinda stuck in his ways… um, but he’s super helpful! I couldn’t have gotten this far without him.”

There’s a moment of silence. Thinking about her manager makes her feel queasy. Even though they’re locked in, she takes solace that he’s locked out.

Meijin draws another backwards uma symbol in front of Mariana. “There. It’s for good luck.”

“Huuuh? For me?”

“You can’t really bring it with you, but…” He smiles. “Maybe the luck will stay with you. It’s for becoming a better model. You don’t need luck, but you know! When we get out of here, we’ll go to the beach and you’ll do a fashion show. Even all by yourself, if you have to! And I’ll be there cheering you on!”

It’s like a puppy working himself up. His eyes are practically sparkling. She places a hand over her heart. “Meijin, oh my gosh… thank you! I feel the good luck flowing into me.”

She hums as if she’s charging up and dings when she’s ‘all full’. “Luck received! The power of the dancing horses is locked safely in here.” She points to her heart, but it just looks like she’s pointing to her boobs. “And you have good luck too, okay? I’ll share my extra good luck with you if I have to. I’ll come watch your shogi matches and stuff. I’ll learn about how it works, I promise!”

“I don’t know if that will be as exciting,” he chuckles. “But I’ll try.”

She claps her hands together. “I know! We can practice!”

“Huh? Practice?”

Mariana stands up and skips over to the walk-in closet. “Look! I can do a fashion show for you! And as repayment, I’ll help you train for shogi! Your talent lab isn’t open yet, but I bet there’s a board in the storage room somewhere, right?”

His eyebrows raise. “Do you know how to play shogi?”

“You can teach me!”

“I will, but you don’t need to pay me back for this…”

“Well, I want to! So, there!” With that, she closes the door of the dressing room. “No peeking! Unless you really want to, that is!”

Mariana hums. She’s pleased to find tons of clothing all in her size-- her real size, even, not what people think her size is. She settles on a floral orange bikini with a tie on the front and a sheer skirt to match. It’s a beach, isn’t it? She wants to show off a little.

Before heading out, she spends time adjusting her outfit and her hair. Normally, there’s someone on set to adjust (or practically glue) her clothing into place. She’s used to feeling beautiful, but she feels self-conscious.

Throwing open the closet door, she strikes a pose with one hand on her hip and one hand over her head, emphasizing her curves the best she can. “Ta-da! What do you think?”

The cameras flash. Meijin’s his mouth hangs agape for a moment. “Wow. You look amazing!”

She beams. Meijin’s too nice to tell her anything else, but she wants to believe it’s genuine. “Thanks! When we go to the beach together, I’d love to wear an ensemble like this!” she says. “I could help you find a good look that will help you from getting too chilly! Maybe a short button-down shirt over a tank top and long board shorts?”

“You’re helping me plan a look already?” He gives a half-smile, as if to say, there’s more important things to focus on first.

The truth is that she had been having so much fun that she nearly forgot that beyond the exit door was an entire school designed for them to kill one another. “Um, duh? That’s what I do! Looking your best is key to feeling your best, I think. That doesn’t mean you have to always be in the latest styles.” She holds up a finger. “So long as you’re dressing in a way that suits your personal style and makes you happy, that’s what matters.”

Meijin’s silent for a moment, looking down at his hoodie. He shoves his hands in the pockets. “Yeah! I think the same thing. I’m really glad you think that way too, Mariana.”

She doesn’t push him on the way he paused. “Um, I’m going to try on another outfit, okay? There’s a lot in here. You can leave if you’re bored…”

“No way!” He crosses his legs and settles in. “You’re the one who will get bored during shogi, trust me.”

“I can’t imagine that, if I’m playing with you. I bet you’re a very good teacher.”

“We’ll have to see, won’t we?”

She’s not sure for how long she tries on different outfits, but Meijin gives his full attention the whole time. It feels like the first time in days that she can unwind and be herself. Having fun like this reminds her of one reason why she wanted to become a model.

One reason. The other reasons were waiting for her outside. The guilt eventually stops her and she changes back into her casual clothes. Even as she heads back out, she doesn’t want her time here to end just yet.

She plops herself down next to Meijin. “That was so fun! I seriously can’t thank you enough for sticking with me.”

“I don’t mind at all.” His comments had shown genuine interest in the clothing, not just her body. She wonders where he got the knowledge from. “Maybe we should ask Nunosuke about some of his styles. I wonder if you’ve modeled any of his clothing.”

“Hm… I don’t think I’ve met him before…” There’s a muddled memory in her mind, but it’s like trying to grasp a whisp of smoke. “I’d love to talk to him about clothes! But, like, I’m not thinking about him right now.”

He cocks his head. “Huh? Who are you thinking about?”

Mariana boops his nose. “You, silly!”

His cheeks flush. “What? Me? What do you want to know?”

“I dunno. I feel like you’re kind of… mysterious. It’s interesting.” She rests her chin in her hands. “But I want to know more about my partner in not-crime. Is that bad?”

He stares down at the sand. “Um, well, you did open up to me… but there’s not a lot of interesting stuff to know. Let’s see… my mom is a trial lawyer, and my dad is a pharmacist. We live in Aoyama.”

“No way! Isn’t Aoyama, like, super ritzy?” she says. “That’s so cool! That’s the kind of place where, like, you can drop 1,000 Yen and not even pick it up. Does your family wear fancy stuff? Maybe a house with a tiger rug?”

Meijin chuckles, waving his hand. “No, they’re not that interesting.” His smile fades. “I don’t really know them that well. They were always working. I was more or less raised by my maid.”

“Oh, you mentioned them before!” She tries to temper her excitement, feeling like she’s embarrassing him. “What is your maid like? You must be very close.”

“Yeah. Her name is Dolores. She’s been with my family since I was born. She kind of does it all… cooks, cleans, and helps take care of me.” He smiles fondly. “She speaks three languages. She taught me some Filipino words and helped me in English classes. And she’s tough! She used to be able to carry me on her back while doing a load of laundry and simmering dinner.”

The thought of a little baby Meijin riding piggyback on his maid is too cute to bear. Mariana smiles widely. “I love her already! She reminds me of my Mama. It sounds like she found a good job and she got to take care of a cute kid. ”

“I don’t know about the last part,” he says, looking away in embarrassment. “I always tried to be nice to her, but my parents are kind of… strict. I just hope they paid her well…” He bites his lip. “Sorry. I’m sitting here talking about how they were probably mean to this woman who meant everything to me, as if I understand discrimination…”

She frowns. “You can’t solve everything, you know? You were just a kid. At least you, um, recognize these things and want to solve them.”

“Thanks. I don’t mean to keep making you comfort me or anything. I just… really want to make a difference in the world, if I can,” Meijin says. “I grew up without much experience of the outside world. I didn’t really know that, like… poverty and homelessness were problems. I remember one time I saw someone begging on the side of the street and my Dad called the police…”

He clenches his fist. “It’s why I don’t get along with him and Mom very well. After a certain point, my eyes were opened, and I just can’t understand why people with power and money don’t do things to help others. I’m not looking to be a hero, I just want to help people here if I can…”

“I think you can. I mean, you at least have my support, partner.” She ruffles up his hair. “But you don’t need to be apologetic. It’s just your family. My family isn’t perfect, either. Um, it’s like Nunosuke said… what matters are the actions you choose, right?”

“Yeah. Thanks for hearing me out,” he says, looking her in the eye. “Oh! My shogi teacher is the best! I want to tell you about him, on a happier note. His name is Master Fuyoshi and he’s amazing! He’s super wise and humble, and he makes really good tea.”

“Oh, wow! I can totally imagine that! Maybe you’ll have to introduce me sometime,” she says, clapping her hands together.

“Yes! I can hardly wait! He’s super nice, and he never looks down on anyone. One time, some kids started throwing stuff at him in the park, and I wanted to chase them away… but he just moved, and let it go. They got bored and left.” He stares at his feet. “He always was there feeding the birds… I hope he’s not worried.”

“We owe it to the people we love to get out, I think,” Mariana says. “I know it’s cheesy, but I really believe that.”

“Yeah. That’s a nice way of putting it.”

It feels like she could spend forever just chatting with Meijin. She knows she’ll have to move eventually and face reality. She rifles through her belongings. It’s a hunch, but she has something she thinks he’ll like.

Earlier, she discovered a school store with a vending machine full of random presents. She happened upon one by chance that she planned to wear for herself. “I know this is out of nowhere, and tell me if it’s dumb, but… um… I thought this would look cute on you.”

Mariana holds out a hair clip with a kitten on it. “I noticed that you wear some bobby pins to help keep your hair out of your face, and maybe this would be cute… you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to.”

Meijin leans his head forward as if he’s about to be knighted. Encouraged, she pins it into his hair. The little kitten charm highlights how adorable he is. “What do you think?”

“I love it, seriously! It suits you so well!” Mariana’s practically bouncing up and down with excitement. “Thank you so much for letting me put it in your hair!”

“What? It’s a gift, I need to be thanking you,” he laughs. “Thanks. It will remind me of you. I’ll always wear it.”

The intensity of his words only seems to hit him after he says them. He turns away, his cheeks red.

Mariana’s heart skips a beat. This is dangerous. Getting close is dangerous.

She’s just making allies, isn’t she? It’s just what she needs to do. Nothing more.

\---

It’s been a strange day for Chuya Takahashi.

First, she woke up in her dorm. That wouldn’t have been strange if it weren’t in the middle of a murder-school run by a murder-koala (wolf? cat?).

Then she found her closet full of clothing that would fit someone seven feet tall, which she was. She tried on several fashionable choices before eventually shrugging on a track jacket and a long skirt that felt easy to move in. They didn’t quite match, but they were comfortable, and nobody expected more from her.

After that, she ran a lap around the first floor and heard some kind of wailing ghost in the trash room. So, if anyone asked her why she was hoarding garbage in her dorm, she would say that she was not falling for the old banshee-in-the-garbage trick. She had been pranked enough. No thank you.

Breakfast had been great! Pork was the best substitute for sleep, she heard on the car radio seven years ago while her Mom was driving and Chuya was on her 36th consecutive hour of consciousness, so she decided to eat a plate of bacon and nothing else. Yusuke’s nose looked less purple. Was this the power of foundation? Mental note: ask Mariana about how it can hold up a house and your facial structure.

Talking to Akira had been underwhelming. She had hoped it would play out like a movie where the villain would give a long speech about their motives, but all he did was glare at her like a bully. It sparked something in her and she spent most of her five minutes hurling various insults at him. She felt like she really spoke her mind and got things off her chest, but for some reason, she didn’t feel any better.

The encounter had left her feeling directionless. She could try and assist Yusuke, but she would probably just get in his way. She could try and make friends with other students, but something stopped her every time she got close.

She had become friends with her track team, back at her old school. And then she had been the only one chosen as the ‘Ultimate Sprinter’. She left them behind-- permanently, it looks like, if nobody gets killed. The thought makes her nauseous.

Chuya finds herself wandering the halls, hoping something would happen. And then something does. She collides with a pair of airbags.

On the floor, she’s not sure where the wreckage of the car is. Then she realizes that there’s no car, and they weren’t airbags-- she walked into Mariana’s chest.

“Aaaah! Mariana!” she cries out. Chuya scrambles up and reaches down to help her up. “I’m sorry! I wasn’t looking low enough to see you!”

Most people are out of her line of vision! Mariana is one of the taller ones, but still, it’s an excuse. Chuya had been too wrapped up in her own head.

Fortunately, Mariana doesn’t seem upset. She takes Chuya’s hand and hoists herself up. “It’s okay! It’s my fault, really. There’s a lot of me to bump into.” She laughs.

Chuya chuckles, rubbing her arm. “Me too. My track team used to say that I would have to duck or airplanes might hit me. One of the boys in my class called me ‘air traffic controller’.”

“Whaaat?” Mariana covers her mouth. “No way! You’re tall, sure, but you’re slender! And you have such long legs! I can totally picture you on a magazine cover as a model. I should see if my Manager can hook you up with a job after we get out of here.”

For a minute, all Chuya can do is gape. “Who? Me? Really? For real?” she says, rapid-fire. She pictures herself draped in a fancy outfit. “Nobody’s ever said that to me before.”

“Well, it’s true! Tall and skinny is the ideal model look. I just have two big things that help me skirt by.” She squishes her boobs together, sticking her tongue out. Chuya blushes. “You don’t deserve to be treated badly when I, like, know girls that would kill for your body.”

“Wow… I hope not literally. I kind of need it,” she mumbles.

Mariana laughs. “No, no! It’s a, um, how is it called… ‘figure of speaking’.”

“I know what you mean! Chikako on my track team used to do poetry and stuff, too, so she always said complicated stuff.” Chuya nods sagely. “I’m not very good with words. I’m pretty much just good at running fast.”

“Hey, stick to what you know. That’s why you’re an Ultimate, right?” Mariana smiles. “I think it’s a great thing! When you ran to the gymnasium yesterday, I had never seen anything like it! I bet if there’s a, um… emergency, you could run there really fast and help out!”

Chuya perks up. “You’re right! I think I really could!” She imagines herself dashing somewhere and arriving just in time to help. “That makes me feel better. I want to be useful here.”

She rocks on her heels. “But, with the stuff you said earlier… it would be so fun being a fashion model, but I don’t think I could do it. I might be skinny, but I don’t have that, you know… ‘sexy factor’ that you have. When people are looking at me, I just think they’re making fun of me.”

“Hm… well, I try not to think about the people who are staring at me. It’s my job and all, but I try and look sexy for myself. That’s what’s most important to me.”

Chuya thinks back to her difficulty choosing an outfit this morning. Several gorgeous dresses litter the floor of her room now; she tried them on, one by one, throwing them on the ground in increasing levels of frustration. She pulls her track jacket closed a little tighter. “You’re really encouraging, Mariana. I don’t mean to put you down… thank you.”

Mariana holds out a peace sign. “No problem, you know? I’ve got, like, good vibes to go around. I think you deserve to be happy.”

She pauses, as if there’s something she’s holding back. Finally, Mariana says, “don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re lesser, okay? For any reason, whether it’s how you look or how you act. Everyone deserves love, and that includes you. I know it’s not my place to say that, so like, um… sorry to make it awkward. I just think you might need to hear it.”

Chuya covers her mouth. “Gosh…” Worthy of love? Her?

Coming from someone like Mariana? To her?

“I… thank you.” She looks away, her face beet red. Worthy of love. She faintly remembers sitting on her Mom’s lap, watching TV. Or holding up a gold medal as her team cheered. Or the way Yusuke’s nose crinkles up when he laughs…

“No problem. I, like, am totally not trying to sound weird. I just pick up these things from people.” She nods. “When we get out of here, I bet there’s going to be lots of people who are really happy to see you safe.”

Chuya’s eyes widen. “You think? I bet my track team will be happy, at least… since nobody else can run 40 MPH…” She crosses her arms. “Ah, I guess they won’t feel so bad about not getting into Future Point, since it turned out to be a place where people kill each other. I wouldn’t have come if I had known that!”

To her surprise, Mariana laughs again. “I don’t think this is exactly normal for the school. Although, um, Meijin does have a hunch that this kind of thing has happened before…”

“I thought so! That stupid raccoon thing is so evil!”

“But, um… this might also not be my place to say it, but I think your track team would be very proud of you. It’s hard to get into Future Point. I don’t even know how I managed to get in,” she says, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. “You can run 40 MPH? It’s no wonder you were their star member. You should hold your head up high, you know?”

It’s strange. These words should make her happy.

That she’s “pretty”.

That she “deserves love.”

That she should “hold her head up high.”

To an extent, they do make her happy. But there’s an ever-present weight in her chest that only seems to get heavier. It’s been there for a long time. Chuya’s not sure when she first noticed it, but once she did, it became impossible to ignore. When she sleeps, when she walks… it’s there, slowly shaving seconds off her run time.

“Sorry, um, I might have gone too far. In Brazil, it’s easy to be really open… I’m not so used to it here in Japan. I must seem so rude,” Mariana says, bowing in apology.

“No! No no no, it’s not rude at all!” Chuya backpedals. “I’m, um, not used to it. I think… if I’m such a good person, I want to act on it, not just feel like it.” She holds a fist up to her chest. “I think if I can unlock my talent lab, it will be a sign of my progress… so that’s something I’ve been trying to do. I just don’t know how to prove it to Monokuma that I’m worthy.”

“Worthy of what?” Monokuma asks. “Dethroning Stretch Armstrong?”

Chuya flinches. It’s hard to get used to his sudden appearances. “Where did you come from?!”

“Well, when a mommy bear and a daddy bear love each other very much…” Monokuma strokes his fuzzy chin. “The stork brings them a baby bear, who proceeds to kill them all in front of one another for entertainment.”

“No way! I saw a nature program once about how a Mama Bear protects her cubs!”

“Ah, Mom… dear old Mama Kuma...” Monokuma wipes a tear from his eye. “I remember her last words as clear as day… ‘stop pointing that gun at me, you little bastard’.”

Mariana puts her hands on her hips. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“I don’t, because all you brats are still breathing for some reason!” Monokuma says. “Anywho, I’m here on official business. I’m here to tell you that I’m not opening up your talent lab, Chuya.”

“What?” Chuya gasps. “Why not?!”

Monokuma pulls out a notebook from god-knows-where and puts on a pair of reading glasses. He opens up the notebook and squints at it. “It says here… ‘because you absolutely freaking suck.’ Seriously! It says it right here!”

Mariana looks like she wants to say something, but she shuts her mouth. Chuya’s fists ball by her sides.

“Yep! I think I’ll open everyone else’s talent labs besides yours!” Monokuma says. “Everyone else just needs priority! A Surgeon with several honorary degrees? A Psychologist with hundreds of published papers in world-renowned literary journals? A Class President who reformed one of the country’s worst-performing schools singlehandedly? All useful!”

His red eye seems to sparkle. “And then there’s you… the freak who can run fast. Mariana really had to struggle to put a positive spin on it, huh? You can get anywhere in an emergency, so long as it’s 6 seconds away by sprinting! And then what? You get there and cry at the emergency situation until it reassures you?”

Monokuma giggles. “Upupu… give me a break. Between you and me, I have no idea how you got in here. Did you dash under the vault door when nobody was looking?”

The words just keep pummeling her. She stares down at her shoes, her unkempt bangs falling over her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Monokuma taunts. “Going to run away? I’m sure Yusuke will reassure you. Maybe you’ll break his jaw this time rather than his nose.” He stifles another giggle. “Maybe he’ll go the way of Hisao… how sad!”

The name ‘Hisao’ hits her in the gut like a sucker punch. All the wind leaves her. She feels pavement on her cheek and boots on her back.

“You’re wrong.”

Chuya wishes the words came from her mouth, but they didn’t. All that could come out was a choked breath. It’s Mariana who’s spoken. She’s giving Chuya a reassuring smile. Chuya is standing up in the hallway. There’s nobody kicking her into the dirt like she deserves-- or, deserved.

“All of us are useful. You’re just like, afraid of our ability to band together,” Mariana says. “If we’re all scared and alone, it’s easier for you to get us to hurt each other. So we won’t fall for it.”

Right. When Chuya finds herself back in this state of mind, her thoughts go in a dark direction. She remembers changing her body. She remembers the blood and agony. But this time-- she imagines herself on a magazine cover.

She had been a model of sorts, once. When she broke a national record, she was photographed for a newspaper along with all her friends in the track team. They all held her up on their shoulders. It felt like she was flying.

“Mariana is right.”

Chuya’s fists unclench.

“You can say whatever you want to me,” Chuya says. “I won’t lash out at you, and I’m not gonna run away. I have a place here now. My talent might not be the best, and I might hit my head on every doorframe I ever walk through... but! If there’s anything I can do to help others, then… that’s all that matters!”

Monokuma stares blankly forward. It’s as if he’s processing what just occurred. Finally, he turns around, giving a low chuckle.

“You kids and your speeches full of hope… Well, what can you do? I’m here for the long game. The payout is what matters to me,” he sighs.

“By the way…” He turns his head slightly, revealing his red eye. “Do you know that some people put carnivorous, predatory animals like dogs on vegan diets? They think it’s more healthy. More ‘ethical’. A dog raised from birth like that… it might think that’s how the world works. It might think it’s normal. It holds its breath around fresh meat… until one day, it can’t deny what it is anymore, and finds its muzzle covered in blood.”

When Chuya looks again, he’s gone. In his place, the hallway has gained a new path. At the end of the hall is a door with a small drawing of her on it.

“I’m not a dog,” she says to herself. “I’m Chuya Takahashi. Those are just big words from a small, stupid panda.”

\---

The first thing one can see in the lab is torture equipment. Prominently displayed is a rack that one can be latched to in order to stretch their limbs. Shackles hang from the wall. The scuffing of the walls and floor make it look as if they’ve been used.

Past the initial entrance, however, is a fancy private gym. A spacious treadmill rests near a flat-screen TV. The treadmill connects to the TV in order to show tracks in order to make one feel as if they’re running through nature, cities, etc.

The rest of the gym is stocked with supplies for Chuya. There’s extra running shoes- she usually burns thorough them quickly- as well as a water cooler and a massage chair. Some motivational posters featuring cool, attractive men are up on the walls.

“I think that Monokuma has, um, a specific interior design strategy,” Mariana says. She steps past the torture equipment and plops down in the massage chair. “Ooh, fancy!”

Chuya runs her hand over the stretching rack the way someone might pet the snout of a beloved old horse. “No, I don’t think he did this just to make fun of me. Um… I stretched myself out on a rack like this that I made at home.”

“Huuuuh? I didn’t think you were into that kind of thing, Chuya.” Mariana gives an uncomfortable chuckle.

Chuya shakes her head vigorously. “I-it’s nothing weird! A girl can do plenty of innocent stuff with torture equipment!” she insists. Her face falls again. “It’s just… how I had to cope.”

“How you had to cope? But, um, were you punishing yourself?” Mariana asks. She quickly adds, “I’m not trying to judge, Chuya, I promise. I mean, I’m the foreigner here. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

She takes a deep breath. “... I do want to. There’s not much to say, though. I used to be really small and weak. I couldn’t even run 1k, and I got winded trying to lift up something heavier than my lunchbox…” She clenches a fist. “I stretched myself out so I could run faster and better. I wanted to be so tall and scary that nobody would bully me.”

“Wow, I see!! I had no idea something like that would work so well,” Mariana says. She looks up to Chuya’s full height. Even in her special talent lab, Chuya’s head almost scrapes the ceiling. “And I’ve already said, like, I think you look good. But confidence is key, you know?”

The implication is clear: even Mariana can tell she’s not fully confident. She shifts on her feet. “It deterred bullies, but also friends. It worked a little too well.”

She clasps her hands. “Although…” Chuya looks down, her grin slowly spreading. “I think my luck has started to change! I’ve met someone who likes me for how I am. Besides you.”

Mariana leans on the armrest of the massage chair. “Oh, really?” she says. To anyone besides Chuya in her sudden surge of being love-drunk, it would sound like incredibly thin acting. “Who could it be?”

“Yusuke!” Chuya blurts. “He recognized that I can run super fast! He trusted me to help him investigate, even though I kind of blew it!” She sighs dreamily. “I’m glad things worked out.”

For some reason, Mariana’s face sours. She struggles to pretend she’s been smiling all along. “Oh, I see. It’s… good to feel like you have someone you can rely on.”

“Yeah! He’s so helpful! And he lets me feel useful!” Chuya beams.

“That’s, like, so nice of him. How do you think he’s been helpful?”

It catches Chuya off guard. She glances at the posters of handsome men for support. “He really helped when we were looking around the school! He told me where to look!”

“Oh, so you found things and he decided to present the findings?”

“Yeah, well, he’s good at words. And I kind of… ran away. So he found that file folder on his own! And during breakfast this morning, he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind! It was awesome!”

“Do you think it’s okay if the class is split up, though?” Mariana poses the question as if she’s genuinely curious.

“Um, no… I just think it’s suspicious that Meijin would try and defend a bad person like that.”

“Oh, so you know he’s a bad person?” Mariana leans forward. “Like, did you talk about much with Akira during your visit?”

Chuya rocks on her heels. “I mean, not really…”

Mariana stands up. “That’s okay. I know how it feels to have someone like Yusuke. I mean, I can’t judge, right?” she laughs weakly. “It’s like… comforting. There’s someone who can just handle all the hard things and let you relax in his embrace. And I know I’m, like, not as smart as you. But don’t forget that even if you’re partners, you are your own person.”

Mariana begins to walk toward the door., “I wouldn’t want you to let him make choices for you until you just don’t know anymore what’s real and what isn’t. But that’s, um, just me.”

“Ah, wait! Are you going?”

She gives a peace sign. “I think, like, I should keep looking around! Never underestimate what you can do!”

“Okay!” Chuya waves. “And, Mariana?”

“Huh?”

“I… can’t say I get it all, but… thanks.”

Mariana smiles widely and tells her it was no problem, but she seems in an awful hurry to leave.

\---

Running.

Back on the track team, Chuya had to learn it all, from marathon running to sprinting. Sprinting is different from the rest. She can throw her full self into sprinting. When she’s half-conscious, gasping for breath with her burning lungs, her legs screaming in pain… then she feels alive. Useful. Real.

But for now, she jogs on the treadmill. It’s not the same high that she gets from sprinting, but it gives her the opportunity to go for much longer. It’s like an IV drip of emotion into her veins.

She passes the hour mark. The TV is untouched. She doesn’t need to look at anything except the wall in front of her. Thinking.

It’s all left her hollow. From Monokuma’s teasing to her conversation with Mariana. It was like the two of them got close, and at the end, Chuya somehow pushed her away. Is Yusuke ‘bad’?

It doesn’t make sense. Yusuke wants to keep them safe. He’s not making decisions for her, is she? She already thought that Akira was a bad person. Only bad people would hurt others. She would know.

No. Chuya chooses to support Yusuke. There’s several reasons. Sure, one is because he’s beautiful. It’s not wrong to admire that. Anyone can see it. When she stands next to him- when someone like him gives her attention- she feels beautiful as well. As if she’s on a throne with a scepter in her hands.

But he’s smart, too. He has a plan. Chuya’s always ran blindly-- in every manner of speaking. When Yusuke does something, it seems like the first move in a carefully-calculated plan.

And he gives her the opportunity to be part of that plan. To be useful. She can be a good person.

When Yusuke complimented her, she felt warmth in her chest that she hadn’t felt in a long, long time. He chose to find her and work with her. He feels the same way.

It’s love.

Chuya wouldn’t have much experience with it, but it has to be.

After another fifteen minutes, she’s dying for some water. She pauses her workout and walks over to the water cooler. As she moves parallel to the door, she spots someone in the doorframe. Yusuke stands watching her.

“Aaaah!” She hopes he can’t read minds!! It would be so embarrassing! “Yusuke?!”

He puts a hand over his mouth. “Chuya! I am so sorry if I arrived at a bad time! I became curious when I noticed the new talent lab, and then… I was captivated by your beauty…”

Chuya mops all the sweat from her brow. Her bangs are plastered to her forehead. “Um, um-- thanks! I would have noticed your beauty too, if, uh, I saw you!”

“There’s no need to worry.” Yusuke tilts his head and smiles. Those wavy blue locks frame his face perfectly. “I only just walked through that door. There was not much for you to have missed. Your brow seemed to be furrowed in concentration. I admire how much passion you put into your talent.”

She accidentally overfills the paper cone of water. She chugs it in one gulp. “I-it’s nothing, really. Just putting one foot in front of the other, but like, a lot of times.”

“All the small steps add up.” He gives a small chuckle. “Chuya, I came to clear the air. Ever since the ‘incident’ with the drawer that would not open…”

“I’m sorry!” She bows deeply. “I should have been way more careful! I’ll be super duper careful from now on!”

“Good.” When she stands up from her bow, he’s looking intensely at her. “A leader’s face is quite important. Having any sort of damage could make the students insecure… I wouldn’t want them to think my dear assistant is abusing me.”

“No! I would never! I only want to protect you, Yusuke!” she insists. Why would she let the drawer slip like that? Clearly, she doesn’t care enough. Stupid, stupid. “But, um, it looks a lot better…”

“I do not think it was broken. Makeup was able to cover the discoloration. So, you are forgiven.” He grins, and all her anxiety is washed away. “I spent quite some time watching you run. It is hard to stay mad at such a graceful woman.”

Graceful. She had always thought of herself as gawky. A small part in the back of her mind tells her that he first claimed to have only just arrived a second ago, but now he said that he watched her for ‘quite some time’.

She must have misunderstood, right? Clearly. She won’t make him mad by asking dumb questions.

“Ehehe… I don’t think I’m that graceful, Yusuke. Not like you!”

“Goodness… you flatter me.”

“I mean it!” she insists. “I can tell you really work hard at your talent, too! The way you lead everyone is so cool! I think you should become class president of like, the world!”

“Do you truly think so? In truth, Chuya… yes. I think I can trust you with my dream. So here it is: I dream of a perfect world."

“A perfect… world?”

He balls a hand into a fist, determined. "Yes. A world without poverty, hunger, the poor distribution of resources..." He shakes his head. "For that, I will seek local office. Once I win, I will continually move up until I reach the post of Prime Minister. Chuya… I hope you will become part of that perfect world with me.”

His words captivate her. The utter conviction makes it feel not just like a dream, but a solid prediction of the future. “I… I will!” she says. “I’ll become a part of that world!”

He reaches out and squeezes her hand. “Thank you, Chuya. I believe we can do it together. I have faced… opposition before. Some of it has been harsher than others.” His eyes mist over. “In an environment such as this, I fear… how easily betrayal could come.”

“No! I won’t betray your trust, Yusuke, no matter what! I’ll protect you!!” Her lips form a tight line. “I believe in you… you know how to make everything right.”

“Thank you, my dear.”

Seeing that smile come back washes all her worries away. True love could never be wrong.

\---

As far as Mariana can tell, word has spread about Akira's escape. Nunosuke stayed by the doorway to his dorm for a while to deter people from trying to verbally harass him, but finally it seemed as if exhaustion overtook the mountain of a boy and he departed.

Mariana paces through the hallways. The dumpster had been empty, no jesters in sight. Where could he be hiding? He could be locked up in his own dorm, but that's the predictable answer. And Morihimo seems to pride himself in not being predictable.

She thinks a few times about asking Meijin for help, but she stops herself. After the conversation with Chuya, she feels like she would rather be alone. She's nothing but a hypocrite if she thinks that she should rely on Meijin for everything.

So she looks around the school. Others, like Yuko, are looking for some kind of miraculous secret exit. Mariana won't dash their hopes.

Finally, Mariana finds herself looking in the first floor's bathrooms. There's nothing much of note in them. Mariana examines the tiles on the walls for secret rooms, as if this were some hackneyed mystery novel, but nothing reveals itself. When she leaves the bathroom, however, a particular jester is waiting for her.

He's walking on a big inflatable ball and juggling. The deliberate way he's placed himself gives Mariana the feeling that she didn't find him on accident; rather, he let himself be found.

"Looking for little old me?" Morihimo giggles. "You think I wouldn't be so hard to find! Just look at this getup!"

Mariana's in no mood for her act. "Morihimo, explain yourself."

"Huuuh? Explain what?" he asks.

The mask on his hip speaks up. "Perhaps she means your roguish charm."

"That comes naturally to me. Once you've killed a man, little can faze you anymore!" Morihimo giggles. "Don't worry, though, Mari. It was only before coming here that I killed. It probably won't happen again! Unless the madness strikes, hee-hee!"

It's like the world's most insufferable comedy routine. "I don't want to hear your jokes. Did you tell Akira yesterday that I was holding info back from the class?"

Morihimo catches all the juggling balls and drops them into an exaggerated pocket on his suit. It's as if they vanish, leaving no bulge in his clothing.

“Eeehh? Did I do what?” Morihimo gasps, pressing his hands to his cheeks. “Now why would I sneak into the infirmary, disturb a student who had been shot, and rile him up like that? That’s madness!”

“You don’t know either, huh? Because you’re so unpredictable.” Mariana digs her nails into the skin of her arm. “You probably don’t know why you freed Akira from his restraints, either. Probably just to make him suffer.”

A strange look crosses Morihimo’s face. “Oh, is that what you think? Heehee… I guess I shouldn’t try and change your mind, then! You won’t believe me if I tell you! Who would believe a fool?”

She doesn’t care what he has to say. “You’ve just been playing games and talking about my big bahongas and whatever. Do you even care?” Mariana asks. “Like, am I supposed to be grateful because you gave me a hint? You used that to betray me.”

“Hey now!” Morihimo laughs. “‘Betray’ is a strong word! It’s not my fault you let yourself get held hostage!”

“How do you know that? You weren’t even there.”

“Oh, you’re right! That’s something else I’m not supposed to know!” Morihimo smacks his head, laughing louder. “Like the Headmaster’s name, or the other branches of the school, or what happened when we walked into the school for the first time! Now that’s insane!”

Mariana takes several deep breaths. It’s not like she isn’t curious about those things- everyone is- but she won’t let him get the better of her like this.

When she opens her eyes, he’s holding out a Portuguese to Japanese translation guide. ‘For Complete Nincompoops’, reads the subtitle.

“You get so much better with your language when you’re angry! A few more pranks and you’ll be writing kanji like a professional!” Morihimo says, smiling overly wide. “Here you go!”

Mariana doesn’t reach out for the book. “I don’t know why you’re doing this.” She holds her arms close to her, holding her face in a neutral expression. “I’m with Meijin when I say I want everyone to get along. I don’t want to fight with you.”

The complete lack of a reaction- laughter or anger- seems to irritate him. But only for a moment. The next, his smile is back on. "You're going to have to fight," he says, wagging his finger. "When one of us kills, will you just give up? What if it’s Meijin? Will you protect him and betray the rest of us fools, or will you expose your new beloved as a lying murderer?”

He giggles. "Gosh golly geez... I didn't know I'd hurt Mari's feelings! I bet she hates me.”

She doesn’t entertain the question. “No. I don’t hate you. I wanted to talk to you, about the number of desks in the classroom, actually. Or what you saw on the ‘TOP SECRET’ tape. I thought maybe you might have something helpful for all of us. It seems like you’re really observant. But… if you just want to act like this, then it’s out of our control.”

Mariana leans into something that seemed to change his demeanor last time. “Nobody’s laughing but yourself.”

“And what raucous laughter!” Morihimo throws his head back, laughing harder. “What’s the point of making jokes if all of this is a joke?”

“It sounds like you’re giving up.” She tilts her head. “You’re scared. You’re hiding in a dumpster. You’re protecting yourself by throwing it all aside. Pushing your findings on me so you don’t have to deal with them.”

Morihimo’s silent. Mariana leans in closer. “Am I right? I don’t need a book when I can read you.”

“Oh, she’s got you now,” says the mask.

“Hush!” Morihimo says. “Scared? Me? You don’t understand, Mari…”

He holds out an empty hand, palm outstretched. He clenches his fist. When he unclenches his fist, he has several knives in between his fingers.

“I am the one to be scared of,” he says, all the mirth gone from his face. Shadows fall over his sharp features.

“Uh-huh, okay, cute. Kill me if you’re so scary, because that’s nothing to me.”

Morihimo jabs his fist forward. Mariana closes her eyes. No pain comes. She’s suddenly aware of something tucked behind her ear.

She opens her eyes. Morihimo has vanished. She reaches back behind her ear and finds a key.

\----

The door kicks up sawdust as it opens. Mariana coughs and waves away a cloud of it.

An overhead light flickers to life. It lets off a solid, steady hum as it illuminates most of the room. The light barely reaches the peg board of hanging tools on the far wall. Mariana sees hammers, wrenches, and screwdrivers of varying sizes, but no power tools.

She steps inside and closes the door behind her. It had only taken a bit of trial and error to find out which locked room the key would open. There are only three on the first floor.

Mariana looks around. There are a few visible footprints on the floor, but mostly handprints and fingerprints. She supposes the Handies must come through here often. It’s easy to see why-- there’s plenty of brooms, mops, and cleaning supplies stored on the shelves. Several buckets of filled paint rest before dozens of emptied ones. How often does this place go through renovations?

The work stations with unfinished woodworking projects, like birdhouses, seem to suggest this used to be a woodshop classroom. It seems that it’s begun to double as a janitor’s closet. Mariana has to wonder for how long this has been going on that they would need the extra space for all these supplies.

She steps through the room carefully. The footprints in the dust tells her that it’s been empty here for some time, but Morihimo likely came through here. Was he pawning off his discoveries on her again? Where did he even get this key? She keeps getting more questions without answers.

In the corner, someone has made an unvarnished wooden chair. A length of fresh rope is on the wall nearby. Someone has made graffiti on the wall of a desolate student hanging themself while Monokuma laughs. She scrunches her face in disgust.

Mariana decides to check for anything that’s missing. There’s nothing particularly strange about this room, but Morihimo wouldn’t have given her the key if he wasn’t trying to tell her something… right?

Upon closer examination, the pegboard has four sizes of most tools. Each tool is numbered. Hammers #1 through #4, screwdrivers #1 through #4, etc. for hacksaws, pliers, wire cutters, and dozens of other types imaginable. At least one size is missing for each tool.

She looks around further. The length of rope hangs on a hook. A second hook is next to the first, but it’s empty. If there was another length of rope, it was taken.

Two possibilities form in Mariana’s mind, and she doesn’t like either of them. The first is that Morihimo had the only key and he took what he needed from this room, then decided to pawn the key off to Mariana. Maybe to frame her after killing someone. “Look! She has the only key!” he would say, and people would easily trust a literal clown over her.

The second possibility is that there’s more than one key, and someone else took things from this room already. Monokuma seems too detail-oriented for the tools to have just gone missing before the game started. But if someone took things already, then who? And why?

The concept of more than one key feels less likely, but she won’t discredit the possibility. She does want to believe in Morihimo. Even though he pulled a knife on her and claimed to have killed before-- it feels like he’s just making his own weird jokes. He wants to play with her. Maybe even warn her, or test her in some way.

Mariana leaves the room without taking anything. She locks it behind her. Looking left and right down the hallway, she slips the key into her bra.

\---

Monokuma’s Night Time announcement had long since come and gone. It’s late when Mariana returns to her dorm.

The hallway is empty. Someone clears their throat. She looks up.

On the ceiling, suspended with plungers on his hands and feet, is Morihimo. He looks down at her and winks.

She has so many questions. There’s so much pent-up frustration. She wants to jump up there and pull him down and cradle him like a baby because he’s been acting like a baby. She wants to ask now about if he took things from the locked room, but he’ll just answer with more asinine jokes.

Instead, she says: “If you’re looking to get upskirts, you’re at the wrong angle.”

Morihimo just laughs.

\---

MONOKUMA THEATRE

"I love testing the limits of service workers!

The other day, a waitress brought me a burning hot bowl of food. I thought I would test her, so I said, “excuse me. This food is cold.”

Back in bear society, the other bear would have tried to bite my neck open right then and there! But you humans can’t even talk back when you’re on the clock! She took it in the kitchen and microwaved it for three minutes!

By the time it came back, the food was screaming hot and steam was cascading up toward the ceiling! So I said to her, naturally… “excuse me. This food is still too cold.”

Boy, did that really tick her off! She went back into the kitchen, dumped it all in a frying pan and cooked it over high heat for five minutes! I think it even caught fire! There were smoulders in my food when she brought it back. “Is this hot enough for you?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said, finally satisfied. I ate the entirety of my food.

When she finally came back with the check, I said, “I’d like a full refund. My food was too cold!”

And people say the urge to kill isn’t natural! You should’ve seen the look on her face!"

\---

DAY 3

TIME: MORNING

Mariana awakens to the Morning Announcement. It had been another dreamless sleep. She stands and gets ready for her morning routine when she spots a strange tablet by her bedside.

It’s not her Monopad. A cold, hollow feeling suddenly strikes her. It’s as if she’s seen this thing before, but… she doesn’t recognize it. She turns it on.

Instantly, Monokuma’s voice begins speaking:

“Mariana Lima, the Ultimate Model. This determined young woman became a model after unjust accusations took her father away. Waiting back at home for her is her kind and hardworking mother, Andressa Lima, who has done everything for her.”

Mariana's mother on the screen. She’s sitting on the couch at their apartment, jokingly holding up pom poms as she cheers.

“Whooo!!! Honey! Do your best at Future Point!” she says. “I’m so proud of you!”

Until now, Mariana’s been able to compartmentalize her homesickness. Now, it runs her over like a train. This is how it should have been. She should have been at a good, safe, non-murderous school right now with her mother cheering for her.

Monokuma’s voice continues. “And Mariana loves her mother too… she wires money back so her mother can live comfortably.

“But… what would happen if something were to interrupt this cherished bond?”

The image begins to glitch. The audio cuts in and out at random. Andressa says:

“You’re go i ng g t █ o

M a k e █████

A l l - - tj y y o ur

D r████

E ███a m

S

Com e████████ tr u

███████████████████████████████”

The image warps and shifts more and more until it fades to static… and then, abruptly, it fades back in.

The previous video looked as if it were filmed from a video camera placed upon a tripod. The lighting was perfect and her mom had been dolled up in makeup by a professional-- it looked like Future Point recorded them to cheer on the new Ultimates.

The video that fades back in looks like the cameraman holds the camera in one hand, hovering over a bruised and beaten Andressa. The woman glares defiantly up at her captor. The setting has changed from the familiar living room to some sort of jail cell.

“Honey, don’t listen to their bull shit!” she yells. “You’re--”

The video cuts. When it returns, she has a black eye.

“-- just a killer,” she finishes. The sentence doesn’t flow, as if some words had been cut out. “They’re going to tell you to do something awful to escape and save me, but--”

Cut.

“--you should--”

Cut.

_“--do it…”_

The video freezes on a frame of Andressa laying on the ground. Monokuma appears in an edited-in effect. “After Mariana Lima left for Future Point Academy, something terrible happened to her poor mother… And the only way to save her is to kill another student! Reunite with her…

AFTER GRADUATION!”

With that, the video ends. The tablet slips out of Mariana’s fingers and clatters on the floor.

A small part of her mind never wanted to stop believing that this was all some freak accident conducted by a bored serial killer and eventually they would be rescued. But it feels like the last shreds of that hope just dissolve in front of her eyes.

Whoever did this to them has enormous amounts of power. Her mother would not go down without a fight. They must have all of the students’ loved ones. How? Why? If people didn’t notice a Future Point class go missing, then what about dozens of people related to them?

Screaming. It takes a moment to realize she’s the one screaming, tugging hard on her hair. Hot tears run down her face. All the pent-up rage and indignation bellows out of her. She hopes that Monokuma’s ears pop listening to it; she knows the little bastard is listening. When she gets a hold of whoever is behind this, she’s going to…

To…

She doesn’t know. The thought of someone like Morihimo mocking her, calling her an aggressive foreigner, is like a bucket of cold water to the roaring fire of her anger. There’s nothing she can do right now. Not unless she wants to kill.

But then Monokuma would win, and the thought of making that fucker happy makes bile rise in her throat.

Deep breaths. Just put on a happy face again today. Mariana forces herself to go through her usual beauty routine, but she rushes it a little.

Mariana gingerly takes the motive video with her to breakfast. If everyone agreed to meet up again today, then they need to have a discussion.

\---

Students have gathered in the cafeteria already when Mariana arrives. Everyone seems to be in a similar emotional state to her. Although Touma and Reiko have prepared and served food like yesterday, the joy in the room is gone.

No matter how long they wait, they’re always a few students short. Morihimo, Akira, Yuko, and Hinako aren’t present. After apparently having waited enough, Meijin stands up and taps a spoon on his glass. “So, judging by… the state of things, I’m guessing we all got a video. I think we should talk about what to do with them.”

Mariana nods. “I’m guessing they’re all threatening someone we love, right? Mine showed that they have my mother.”

“They got my old gramps.” Touma tries to smile, but it’s strained. “Sucks to be them, I’ve gotta say. The old coot’s their problem now.”

“Can you only make fucking jokes at a time like this?” Ahoki snaps.

Mariana has to bite her tongue to hold back a comment. She wants to put this bitch in her place, but Meijin would be disappointed.

“We all cope differently, sister,” Touma retorts. “It’s what I do. Thought a Hostess would be better at talking things through.”

“You fuckin’ fat son of a--”

Yusuke holds his hands out. “Stop this at once. This was the doing of Monokuma, who wishes to put us at odds. We cannot let him succeed.”

Reluctantly, Touma and Ahoki both turn away from one another, slumping back in their seats.

Kuro speaks up. “They’ve gotta be edited at least a bit. To change their messages.” It sounds like her nose is stuffy from crying. “My brother, who was in my video, would never say I need to hurt anyone for him. But the video quality is too realistic for it to be greenscreen or somethin’, and I’ve seen plenty of convincing fakes.”

“Make no mistake. They have our loved ones in their grasp,” Nunosuke says. “They tried to coerce them, using force or otherwise, to encourage us to commit murder. For those who would not comply, Monokuma had to resort to his usual tricks.”

“Did someone say my name?” Monokuma says.

“Oh, fuck off. It’s like Bloody Mary for evil furries,” Ahoki says.

Monokuma stares down at his feet. “Aww… I thought you kids would be thanking me. I know you missed your friends and family so much...”

Mariana just ignores Monokuma completely. “Like Nunosuke said, we have to assume the worst, but, um… I don’t think this should change anything. At least for me, no amount of ‘encouragement’ will make me kill someone.”

“Hey! I’m standing right here!” Monokuma whines.

“Right, Mariana.” Kokoro looks up from her notes. “The threat is… succumbing to paranoia. Now is the time to try and strengthen our trust.”

“H-how should that be accomplished?” Reiko asks.

“Damn it, listen to me!” Monokuma says.

Chuya raises her hand. “Can nobody else see that weird mouse thing?”

Monokuma buries his face in his hands. “This is why I’m trying to hurry things along and get a few of you little runts killed! It’s completely un-bear-able!” he says. “Alright, I’ll make it quick for you morons: nobody’s killing yet without a motive, and I’m bored! The motive tablets are all completely real and all of you got one! Get killing or else I might start cutting your family into abstract artwork!”

Finally, Monokuma vanishes. Meijin slams his hands on the table. “We’ve probably all watched them. The more we think about them, the more they’re going to influence us. I think we should throw them all away in the dumpster and forget about them so we can focus on finding a way out.”

“You must be joking.” Yusuke stands. “These are our only links to the outside world. Turning our eyes away from them would be a grave mistake. If we wish to build trust, we should watch them together. It would eliminate paranoia and potentially uncover a clue.”

“And what of the students who aren’t present?” Kokoro asks.

Meijin hesitates. “I think--”

“This problem can be dealt with at a later time. The longer we keep these secrets, the more likely they are to fester into something deadly.”

“And what of those who don’t want to share something so personal?” Souta counters.

Yusuke smiles. “I’m curious what you could have to hide, Souta. Is it worth betraying the trust of your friends?”

“That’s only going to build more paranoia! We need to be all in on this, as… as a team!” Chuya insists. “I can show mine first!”

“I don’t have anything to hide,” Mariana says. “But… and this is a big ‘but’, even from me, forcing others to expose their secrets is an invasion of privacy. It’s not good. I don’t think it will built trust, just resentment.”

“I cannot show mine. I am sorry,” Nunosuke says.

Yusuke places a hand over his heart. “I feel wounded. I would never force compliance to my plan, but… I must admit I am concerned. Monokuma has threatened that a murder will occur soon.” Shadows dance on his face. “I would fear that those who refuse to cooperate wish for such an outcome.”

The way he’s glaring at Souta and Nunosuke irks Mariana. “I don’t think it’s nice to point fingers like this, especially when it’s on the ones of us who look different. I think we’re too upset by what we’ve seen to make a decision right now.”

“I’ve gotta say, Meijin’s plan ain’t shaping up too well,” Touma snorts. “I don’t wanna share my video, but if I toss it in the trash, anyone can pick it up.”

“I thought the same shit. Wasn’t someone hiding in the dumpster or whatever?” Ahoki says.

Meijin frowns. “I just don’t know anywhere else… if one of us hides them, one person will always know their location and could access them. Destroying them would violate the school rules.”

Mariana tugs on her hair. “I… know a place where they could be privately disposed of. Without breaking school rules. But, I’d prefer it if people who wanted their motive videos gone to find me privately. I would worry about someone, you know, singling you out in a group like this.”

“How fascinating,” Yusuke says, not reacting at all to the thinly-veiled insult. “Why have you not shared this information with us before?”

“Gosh, I dunno… the same reason why someone would hide a file folder that has the class’s enrollment list on it,” Mariana says, playing dumb. “‘Cause it’s, like, not the right moment? I wouldn’t know, I’m too stupid.”

“Is it one of the locked rooms?” Kokoro asks. “It must be. I had thought if someone found a key, they could theoretically place items in it and dispose of their key… making the room inaccessible. Flushing a key down the toilet likely would not count as ‘destroying’ school property.”

Almost scarily perceptive. “Again, I’d rather talk privately.” She stands, leaving her motive tablet on the table. “Here, if anyone cares so much. For the record, my motive tablet showed they captured my Mama. She’s the only family I really have left, and she’s strong and tough and wouldn’t want me to sit through this… bullshit.”

The rest of the class end up going their own way. Even Chuya hesitates, makes an excuse, and rushes out of the cafeteria. Yusuke sits back down at the desk, alone.


	5. Chapter 1 / Daily Life, Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friends are made. Secrets come out. The first body is discovered.

**DAY:** 3

**TIME:** LATE MORNING

A part of Mariana wishes she kept her motive tablet, if only so she could have looked at her Mama’s face again. The brief segment meant to encourage her had given her fleeting hope.

Of course, it had all come crashing down as soon as the torture segment came on. Mariana feels nauseous just thinking about it. It feels impossible that someone so strong, so powerful, so full of life as her Mama could be captured and held prisoner like this. But that’s probably about how others think about Mariana-- while she’s laying in bed, curled up into a ball.

There comes a knock on her door. It takes Mariana a moment to get up.

“Come on,” she whispers to herself, “they’re expecting you. Don’t be a bitch.”

“Coming!” she yells to the door. She checks her face in the mirror. No sign that she’s depressed. Perfect! With that, she strides to the door and opens it.

Meijin’s shifting from heel to heel. His motive tablet is clutched against his chest. “Um… hi. Can I come in?”

“Meijin! Of course, you can come inside anytime you want,” she says with a wink. It’s just a reflex at this point, even if she’s miserable, but seeing his face flush red is worth it.

She steps aside and bows as he walks in. “Welcome to my humble dorm!” she says. “What did you want to do with me here, all alone?”

He takes a deep breath. “I wanted to talk to you about my motive tablet.”

Ah. Well, she suspected that. She’s hoping this conversation doesn’t end in her murder. She’s not sure she would fight it.

‘Mariana Lima, a promising young model, was murdered in her dorm at Future Point Academy,’ the true crime video would say. ‘She thought she could juggle men without ever facing punishment. The foolish girl finally got her comeuppance when Meijin revealed a hidden knife and--’

Showing no sign of her inner thoughts, Mariana pulls the desk chair up next to the bed and sits in it. She motions for Meijin to sit on the edge of the bed, which he does. No sign of a hidden knife yet.

“What did you want to talk about?” Mariana asks. “Um, sorry for flipping out like that, by the way. It’s just--” 

“Yusuke is full of shit.”

She’s surprised by his sudden outburst. Wow. It’s a little surprising to see him put his foot down like that. She kind of likes it.

Meijin digs his fingers into the case of the motive tablet. “I- I mean, he’s trying his best, and all, but he has no reason to act like that. I don’t think that my suggestions should just go without dissent, I didn’t mind discussing it… but when he started accusing people because they didn’t want their traumatic videos shown to everyone…”

“I 100% agree,” Mariana says. She laughs, playing nervously with her hair. “I mean, that’s why I just couldn’t sit there anymore.”

He’s silent for a moment. “Do you really have a place to dispose of motive tablets? Without destroying them.”

“Yeah. I was looking for Morihimo yesterday, because…” She’s not sure if she should air her suspicions, even though she does trust Meijin. “Um, I haven’t seen him, and I was worried? Because he was sleeping in the dumpster, and if he keeps doing it, Monokuma will get mad at him. Anyway, he basically told me I’m a stupid foreigner and I should go die. Then he gave me a key to one of the locked rooms.”

She stares down at the ground. “Um, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, even though we’re partners. And I’m sorry I keep getting into fights. First Ahoki, and now this…”

“No, it’s not your fault!” Meijin insists. “I mean, I wasn’t doing anything to stand up to Ahoki or Yusuke. I should apologize to you, too.” He gives a thin smile. “I guess I’m not really ‘being a man’ like Touma said.”

“Who cares about what Touma said?” She leans in. “Ahoki, Yusuke, and even Touma can just shove their motive tablets up their asses if they want. I don’t need some dude trying to reaffirm his masculinity by putting down others, I need someone who’s willing to solve problems with me. That’s why you’re my partner, Meijin.”

He brings his hand to his chest. For a moment, it’s like he’s stunned. She’s afraid she went too far when he says, “thank you. That means more than you know. I really want to make it clear that I don’t think you did anything wrong, either. I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else as my partner.”

Mariana puts on a smile. She just manipulated him into comforting her, didn’t she? The manipulation never ends with her.

“And I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else, either!” She holds out a peace sign. “Just keep being yourself, okay?”

“Only if you do, too. You’re a really good leader, Mariana.”

Meijin just has a knack for hitting her with specific compliments that nobody’s ever told her. “Whaaat? No, I’m just like, a dumb model. I only keep finding these things by accident, you know? And it’s not like I’m doing anything great, I just can’t stand watching people suffer.”

“Most people can’t stand to watch suffering, but most people will just do it, anyway. They’ll sit idly by and cover their eyes and plug their ears. But not you.” He smiles up at her, his eyes full of hope. “That’s why, um, I trust you to tell you about my motive video. I’d rather not watch it again, but I want to talk about it before I just get rid of it.”

“Yeah, of course.” Mariana nods. “I’m sorry I don’t have mine, but I can tell you about it… um, did you guys end up watching it?”

Meijin shakes his head. “No. Everyone just kind of left as far as I know. I was only focused on you.”

Her heart is pounding so loud against her chest. “Um, I see. Well, like, I’d like to know, I guess.”

A silence falls over the room. After a few false starts, Meijin finally is able to find the right words. “My motive video showed… Master Fuyoshi Kitaka. He’s a kind, wise old man with a heart of gold. During a time where I ran away from home, he found me. He taught me how to play shogi, which helped me a lot. When I’m looking down at a shogi board, I can see everything, and I can visualize plans several moves ahead… I feel in control, you know?”

Mariana nods. The sheer passion with which he talks about shogi inspires her; it even makes her a little jealous.

He continues on. His face turns grim. “They captured him. They tried to get him to encourage me to do whatever in order to escape here. But he wouldn’t, no matter what they did to him. He said something like… ‘do what you will to this old man. I only have few years left in me, but Meijin is someone full of hope and potential. You can wring the life from my body, but you will not break him.’”

Just by the shape of the words, Mariana can imagine this man. She imagines the two of them in a public park, a wooden shogi board between them. He would teach Meijin a new strategy with a sparkle in his eye, and Meijin would jump from his seat and clap if he won… she’s never met him, but knowing he did so much to save Meijin makes her feel indebted to him.

“Mariana… he was a Lifetime Ryuuou of his own. I managed to beat him without killing him using my luck, and that’s how I became an Ultimate. That was the luckiest day of my life. I really thought I managed to not kill him.” He digs his fingers into the tablet again. “I guess I was wrong.”

Mariana reaches out and takes his hand. “Meijin, I’m so sorry. That’s not your fault. Having these people taken from us isn’t our fault, any more than it’s our fault for being locked in here. Monokuma did this.”

“I understand Monokuma’s trap. We’re supposed to think it’s our fault. If we don’t kill someone to get out of here, our loved ones will suffer. We can’t win either way.”

“Do you think your Master would want you to kill someone? After all he said?”

“No. But I can’t guarantee everyone else thinks like us. And maybe they did manage to break someone’s loved ones. Maybe they did beg to be saved. It would only make it harder for them. I feel like another death is coming and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”

Mariana can’t entirely deny that. Other people have vastly different ways of thinking. There were students who couldn’t even make it to breakfast, potentially because of grief or distrust.

“Then all we can do is double down on our efforts,” Mariana says. “We have to help everyone stay strong. I think if we reach out to people and try to help them face these things, then they won’t fall for Monokuma’s trap.”

“You’re right.” he says. “My video only showed Master Fuyoshi. Not my parents or my maid. I mean, it could just be that Monokuma thinks I don’t care about them enough. But I think they’re out there cheering for us, maybe even trying to save us.”

“I think so, too. So we shouldn’t lose all hope.” Mariana feels a lightness in her chest. “I’ll put your tablet away if you’re done with it. And then we should split up and see about talking to everyone.”

They divide the list of students. Neither chooses Akira-- even if he got a tablet, neither is sure that talking to one of the students will help him. Meijin reluctantly takes Yusuke because Mariana takes Morihimo.

With a renewed feeling of hope, the partners head their separate ways.

\---

Twenty-nine minutes.

It's a guilty pleasure. Souta likes to count. Like pulse, for example. Pulse is a unique measurement that requires counting heartbeats and seconds at the same time. He's too accurate to need a special tool or even a stopwatch.

And right now, the washing machine has been spinning his lab coat for twenty-nine minutes and twelve seconds.

The setting claimed it would be done in thirty. He had some rags and other assorted whites in to create a full load of laundry. Detergent, fabric softener, and a sizeable helping of bleach had gone in as well. Akira's struggling had gotten quite a bit of blood everywhere.

How sad.

He sits on the bench and continues his count. Every sixteen seconds, a drop of water falls from a pipe into a bucket. He's enthralled to imagine the Handy will have to come empty it eventually. He so desperately wants to see it work.

Every ten seconds, the overhead security camera does a complete sweep of the laundry room. It's one of the few that doesn't remain in one static position. Theoretically, he could commit murder during the camera looking away and not even Monokuma could see.

But he won’t.

Every thirty-seven seconds, on average, the overhead light flickers. It's intriguing to Souta. It's supposed to be a school that spared no expense. As Ultimate Students, they were the world's future, the forefront of talent. He had been granted honorary Doctorates and Medical Degrees for his achievements in prosthetic limbs, yet the school had a leaky pipe and a flickering light bulb.

Then again, he had nothing to base this off of. Perhaps this is par for the course in Future Point. He had been largely self-taught and spent as little time in common areas as possible. Perhaps this is luxury. This moment of respite from the so-called killing game feels nice, at least.

At thirty-one minutes and nine seconds, the washing machine stops spinning and plays a little song. A little robotic voice says, 'washing is all done!' As if it hasn't committed a grave sin.

"Naughty machine," Souta cackles. He flexes his bony fingers, knuckles popping, and opens the door to the washer. He peers into it as if examining a hollow chest cavity. With great movements he scoops out the innards of wet laundry and begins the transfer into the dryer.

And he notices that Meijin Gyokushou takes one hundred and twelve footsteps to walk here from the earliest point that Souta could hear him. Souta sharply turns his head as Meijin stands in the doorway, having just entered.

"Greetings... heh. Don't mind me... I'll be out of your way soon," Souta says.

Meijin bites his nail. Bad habit. "Hey! Souta, right? I haven't had much of a chance to talk to you. Do you have a minute?"

"I have many minutes... or so I think. Perhaps you're here to end that... heh."

"No, I'm not." Meijin leans in the door frame. "That's what I'm here to talk about. You got a motive video this morning, right?"

"Yes. I still have no intention of sharing it, nor of disposing of it."

"That's fine. I just wanted to check up on you... ask how you're doing." Meijin's voice raises in pitch for some reason; his eyebrows knit together in some strange way. "My video was really upsetting, but I've dealt with loss a lot... but I can't imagine how everyone else is feeling."

Souta steeples his fingers. "I see... heh. There is no need to worry about me. I have dealt with a bit of loss, myself." He pauses. "It is not of my own accord. I have never had a patient die under my care... but death is inevitable, is it not?"

"Yeah. I suppose."

"Certainly, it's honorable to try and prevent an... untimely demise." Souta's grin presses his jagged teeth against his thin lips. "I admire you, Meijin. I would not reprimand you if you were to take your efforts elsewhere..."

"I dunno. It kind of sounds like you're trying to push me away." Meijin walks closer into the room and sits on the bench next to Souta. "Are you sure you're doing okay?"

Two-hundred and thirty-nine blinks so far.

"I cannot pretend I am not concerned, Meijin. I was horrified to hear that others had to listen to their friends and family begging for help. My loved one... could not even beg. It is both a blessing and a curse."

"Is it a really young person? Or an animal?"

Souta smiles. "No."

Silence.

"I have sworn a Hippocratic Oath. I will not take life," Souta says. "No matter how much I am disturbed, there is no need to worry... I am much too weak and slow to become a killer, anyway." He gestures to his overall bony physique. "What about you, Meijin? You have so much concern for others... but are you alright?"

It catches him off-guard. "Uh, yeah. I guess I've had a lot of weird feelings about the motive. Mine showed someone besides my family, so I think that my family is still out there. I wanted to remind people that they have loved ones out there who care for them and wouldn't want them to give in."

"Mine did not show my family, either." Souta turns his head in time to see the drop of water to fall into the bucket. "I prefer not to see them. They are both doctors; I follow their footsteps in this regard. Initially, I wanted to be an artist... they would not have it in their household. I still found myself admiring art... the art of the human body. Surgery is an extension of that art... a repair, a modification. One brushstroke on a masterpiece can create something new entirely... or ruin it."

Meijin tilts his head. His lips purse.

"So you're not close to them... I'm sorry." Meijin puts a hand on his shoulder. Warm. Firm. Feels strange. "Um, I trust you, Souta. You've sworn a Hippocratic Oath. You're a professional. But even if you don't feel inclined to kill anyone, I don't want you to suffer alone. You can talk to me anytime, okay?"

"How kind... I will keep the offer in mind. Both you and Mariana have shown me kindness that I do not feel is fully deserved."

"You've done so much to help Akira. I can't think of you as an unkind person," Meijin says, smiling. "I think Mariana can tell that, too."

"Mariana..." His hands feel restless. "She's as beautiful on the inside- metaphorically- as she is on the outside. Heh. It is rare for such a perfect specimen to show any interest in me."

"Yeah, um... Her beauty isn't just skin deep. I don't mean she's not good looking, but..." His face suffers from an acute rush of blood, causing the area to redden. "I think she's a lot more than that. She's intelligent and self-assured."

"Heh... yes, of course… I would be nowhere without her… nowhere.” It’s nothing short of a miracle that she’s done so much for him. She accepted him fully… he must do another drawing soon.

“I… think I should get going. It was nice to talk to you.”

“And you as well, Meijin.”

It takes Meijin far fewer footsteps to leave. He must be taking long strides. Souta imagines the groups of his muscles working to produce movements he takes for granted. He turns his head back toward the dryer.

\---

The rest of the day passes in a blur. As much as Mariana’s loathe to admit it, she’s fallen into a rhythm in this awful school.

She had put Meijin’s motive video in her locked room. Everything looked the same as she left it, which was encouraging.

After that, the first on her list had been Yuko. After searching around, she decided to try knocking on her dorm door, only to receive a tearful “go away” in response. Mariana settled on slipping a kind letter under her door.

Next had been Nunosuke. Their conversation had been brief. He said his video showed his parents; it was the first case she had heard of in which more than one person had been taken captive. He admitted, though, that he wasn’t particularly close to them anymore. It was as if Monokuma struggled to find someone he cared about to threaten him with. Mariana couldn’t help but feel bad for him.

Even though she promised to talk to Morihimo, finding him proved impossible. He wasn’t on the first floor or walking like a fly upside down on the first floor’s ceiling, either. She supposed he didn’t want to be found.

Finding Kuro was easy, because she approached Mariana and asked her dispose of her video. So did Hinako, and Nunosuke had given his after their conversation.

Dutifully, Mariana hadn’t watched them, even if she’s curious. She adds them to the pile in her hidden room.

Ahoki… not yet. Even if she was on her list, she couldn’t talk to her just yet. That left Touma.

She finds him in the classroom, looking through the VHS tapes. Mariana leans in the doorframe. “It’s one of the Sex Ed ones,” she says, with a wink. “The one that’s ‘TOP SECRET’.”

Touma gives her a lopsided grin. “Seen it. Been through just about all of ‘em. I haven’t watched this many VHS tapes since I bought an old box set of Evangelion.”

“Ooh, I see. I haven’t watched many VHS tapes either. Usually my tapes are all digital.” She sticks her tongue out. “So you watched all the racy videos, hmm?”

“The bar is so low if you call these ‘racy’, doll,” he laughs. “I’ve seen much worse on a little modern marvel called ‘the Internet’. I’m really missing it right about now.”

“Oh my gosh, me too!” Mariana leans in, revealing a little cleavage. “Like, my social media must be so dead! I must be losing like, thousands of followers a day.”

“At least you’ve got that much to lose.” Touma sits down at one of the desks, picking at his fingernails. “I’m cool with being unpopular. Lets me follow all the dumb accounts I want in peace.”

“Unpopular? But you’re, like, so cute and so funny.” She decides to sit in a nearby desk, crossing her legs so her foot just brushes his thigh. “And I’ve just been so scared, you know? I don’t want anyone to get hurt, but with these big scary motive videos… I just don’t know anymore.”

“They’re just videos. As a rule, I don’t trust anything unless I see it with my own eyes. We think faking something like that’s impossible, but darling, the impossible’s already happened. That ship has sailed.” He picks his nails with much more fervor, brow furrowed. “Like I said, if they somehow do have my Gramps, he’s their problem. Probably talked ‘em deaf by now.”

“When you put it like that, it makes me feel a little better…” She looks up at him through her eyelashes. “I just haven’t been able to stop thinking about that scary video, even if it’s fake. Maybe someone else would be even more affected than us… I’m worried someone will… come for me.”

He can’t help but crack a smile at her innuendo, but he doesn’t make a joke. “Nothin’ we can do about it. Not unless you’re here for one of my amazing stories to get your mind off things.”

Hm. This approach isn’t working. “Oh, Touma, that would make me feel so much better,” she says, putting a manicured hand on his desk. “You seem really good at putting girls in a good mood, you know?”

He allows himself to ogle her for a bit, but he winds up looking away. Unlike Meijin, he doesn't seem to blush (or get embarrassed at all) easily. In fact, his furrowed brow makes him look like he’s getting more and more… upset? He quickly puts a smile back on. "Uh-huh. Sure, doll. You've come to the right place! Here's a story about a lady in a museum..."

With that, he begins going into a rakugo story. He speaks at length, completely changing his voice and mannerisms for each role he takes on. It's as if he can leave his conscious self behind for a moment.

"... so the ugly one, with the tiny eyes, the crooked nose, the big mouth, and the long face is by Picasso, right?" he says, in a woman's voice.

He replies, in a man's voice: "Ma'am, that's a mirror!"

Touma finally lets loose with a laugh at his own story. He leans back in his chair, tension evaporating from his body.

She finds herself giggling with him during the story’s telling just from his dramatic performance, finally tossing her head back with laughter at the punchline. 

"Wow!" Mariana says, applauding. "I knew you weren't the Ultimate for no reason, but, like, you're really funny!" She dabs away her tears from laughing carefully as to not mess up her makeup. "Thank you, Touma."

She gazes up at him, still smiling. "You have a nice smile, I feel like you could make everyone here calm just by showing it off." Mariana reaches out to pinch his cheek. "So, keep it like that, okay?"

He grabs her hand after it pinches him, but only to place it back on her desk. "Thanks. I know," he says, with another smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

He takes a deep breath. "Let me level with you, Mariana. Ladies don't flirt with the fat kid, not even the funny fat kid... Assuming you were actually laughing at that old story and not just trying to humor me. I'm taking it that you're under suspicion, and you’re scared, and you want an ally." His smile fades. "I don't want to distrust you, but you're making it hard."

He adds, flatly, "That's what she said." And rolls his eyes at himself. "God, I'm so stupid."

Mariana doesn't mind the physical rebuff as much as the emotional one. She lets out a small laugh at his joke, but then swallows. She should probably take this accusation a bit more seriously. "Um... I really just want to get to know each other better. I think we need to keep building trust with each other so nothing bad happens."

She stares at him, wide eyed, attempting to be fully genuine. "If... you don't trust me, I understand, I think. Um, honestly, if anyone has to die, I'd want it to be me, so... I guess it's okay?"

He’s silent, his jaw clenched. She taps her fingers on her thighs, ready to fill the void with more chatter. "I'm sorry, for being suspicious, I guess. I really mean it, though. You're really funny, and I like your smile. I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable." Mariana bows her head. "I hope you'll still want to be friends. Would you like for me to go?"

She begins to stand from her desk when he grabs her hand again. He pulls her back into the chair. “Hey. I didn’t have to act like that. I’m sorry.” He releases her hand, seeming to regret even that action. “You can stay if you want to. Guess this is why I don’t do many fan meet and greets.”

He gives a wan smile. "I think we're better off without anyone dying, alright? So let's throw that idea out the window for now. Metaphorically speaking, since they’re covered in metal. Want another story? Knock-knock joke? Internet meme? I've got a few of everything."

“I wouldn’t have thought you were so shy,” she says. This time, she keeps her hands to herself; she’s even readjusted her legs so she’s not touching him at all. “I don’t think you’re a bad person or anything for that, so don’t worry. I really think, um, you’re one of the most normal? Or the most kind-feeling person.”

He ignores the compliment. “Wouldn’t call it shy. Just not used to praise. I used to live with my Gramps and my family. Gramps is the patriarch, and he's known for being so strict. He whacked one of my brothers completely unconscious with a fan once for breaking his sitting position in a tea ceremony." He shrugs, putting on a smile. "Funniest guy in the world with rakugo, though. It's like he becomes a different person, or like, twenty of 'em at a time!"

Mariana’s eyes widen. "That's just... awful."

She can picture how his brother must have felt all too well-- facing the wrath of an older man. Despite her apologizing, trying frantically to fix the mistake the punishment is already happening.

"If... I can be honest with you, please keep it between us, but... I know the feeling. I don't... um... I don't tell people, but I don't want you to feel alone?" She twirls her hair nervously, then forces herself to go back to being bubbly. "Not from my mom, though! She says that a child is a gift from god, and to harm them is to harm your creator as well. I'm, like, not religious like her, or anything, but... yeah."

“Thanks for trying to relate. I don't know your situation and I won't pry, but don't worry too much over me. Gramps can't reach me in here."

He leans back in his chair and rests his hands on his stomach. "It's just how things used to be back in his day, I dunno. I don't think back then they thought of kids as a gift from god, more like an investment. He wants us to take over the rakugo biz, and all of us are in. Or maybe we’re just his an annoying byproduct from making whoopee."

“Well, it’s like, the parents’ own fault for not knowing when to pull out.” She nods wisely. “Um… can I tell you something weird? Like, really weird?”

“Shoot.”

She tries to steady her staccato breathing before continuing. “Um… I... think I'm scared of getting out of here. I want to see my family so bad, but... I feel like no matter what I do, my life is in danger. I feel like I'd rather die than get out and..." She tries to shift her mood, she's not sure why she's saying this at all. "But, I think it's more likely... for someone to accuse me of something to get off. I don't... I don't know… just, that’s all I can see for my future: being accused or being killed, even if we get out."

She turns around, trying to pull herself back together where Touma can't see her. "Sorry, I'm dumping way too much on you. I, um... I want everyone to keep it together and stay safe, and... I'm not actually helping by thinking like that." She slaps her cheeks. “I-- I’m not just saying this to make you feel bad for me, I promise.”

For all his chattiness, Touma knows how to stay silent and listen completely when he’s being spoken to. He still fidgets in his chair, though. "No real way out, huh?"

Even though his smile hasn't faded, his jaw is clenched. "Sorry, Mariana. I don't know what to say. It's not that I don't empathize. I do. It's just that my only advice is to give up, and it's shitty advice. 'Cause when you know you're gonna get fucked whether you succeed or fail, it's like... to me, it's like being shipwrecked during a tsunami. You give up on swimming because you just get tossed around anyway. All you can do is hold on to driftwood or whatever you can find and pray that it doesn't fucking drown you."

She feels like her tears threaten to spill over from his words. He continues on: "So I really don't know what to tell you. Whether someone's gonna try to kill or frame you... could happen. Might not. Maybe they'll think you're too big and scary to go after you, or focus on a 'smarter' or more 'threatening' target. Honestly? I kinda just fucking hate thinking about it like that, the way Monokuma wants us to. That's why I've just been cracking jokes even if it makes Yusuke all pissed for 'not taking things seriously'."

In her heart, she knows he’s right. She always just digs her heels in and accepts her situation, no matter what it is. Making the best of things is the best she can get.

'Too big and scary to go after you.' Her stomach churns. At the mention of Yusuke, she turns to face Touma finally, her face missing its usual smile. "Yusuke can go suck a dick for all I care." The words escape her mouth before she has a chance to think them through. "I mean... um..."

She looks down at her nails, a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes on her face. "Sorry, I, um... want to work on being more honest with people." Excuses as always.

He bursts out laughing. “I’d call that nice and honest. Just… you said it, not me.”

“I did. I’ll take responsibility.”

She leans on her desk, resting her boobs on it. She’s exhausted. No matter how much she sleeps, she doesn’t feel rested. She rarely keeps up her facade for so long at a time. Even though being around Meijin gives her something of a break, it just complicates things.

She has to figure out how much of ‘herself’ she can be at any given time, even when she doesn’t know who ‘she’ is anymore. She was a raw block of marble to be chipped away by her manager, and even if she picks up the pieces, they won’t just go back on.

Taking advantage of the silence, Touma speaks again. “Want another story?”

“Yes, please. Give it all to me.”

He tells a story about two drunks at a bar who become good friends. They try and give each other directions to their houses to meet again, but they get aggravated with one another because they keep giving the same directions to the same house.

"... a third party asks the bartender, 'should we split them up'? And the bartender says, 'leave them alone. Those two morons are family.'"

They both burst out laughing. Tears roll down Mariana’s cheeks for one reason or another. Touma’s too busy doubled over to notice. "Whew... needed another good laugh. I could go all day. I didn't win this Golden Microphone Pin for nothin'."

“It’s so cool!” Mariana admires the pin. She can tell it’s real gold. “You won that? I think you deserve it. You’re really funny.”

“You know it, doll. I won this pin for one of my televised performances, and now I never go anywhere without it." He pokes it with his finger and it gleams in the light. "I was recognized for helping modernize rakugo, even if old Gramps is slow to warm up to the concept. Adapt or die off. Isn't that what evolution's all about?"

He looks over at her. "What got you recognized as an Ultimate? Besides the two big obvious reasons."

The question takes her back. She pauses. "Um, my story is supposed to be that I was already a model in Brazil, and my manager thought I would be something fresh to the Japanese market so he moved me here, but... I want to be real with you. I was helping out at my mom's job one night, she like... works at a bar, and my manager, Shou, came in as a customer. And, well, like... yeah, like you said, I had two big reasons to be noticed, even when I was 12. I've always been, um... noticeable."

She tilts her head to look at the ceiling, trying to act like she's remembering the story when in reality she's trying to omit details. "He told me I was pretty, and he could get me a job, so... I said okay. It sounds like a terrible idea, but it worked out, you know? I'm not really sure what got me scouted here, I do, like, a lot of different types of shoots. Shou says I'll be the best as long as I stay sexy, fresh, and don't say no to anything, so... yeah! That's... my story. I can't really say I did anything special to be the Ultimate Model, it's kind of a stupid talent compared to everyone elses, you know?" She shrugs, smiling.

His nose scrunches in disgust. "12? That's damn young to be recruited for that. I mean, my Dad couldn't get me to shut up and stop telling rakugo stories since I could talk, but... that didn't involve people admiring my body." He looks away, making a concerted effort to not ogle her body anymore.

Before she can diffuse the situation, he continues: "you've been in Japan for a bit of a while, too... but still, it's like he preyed on a fresh off the boat girl. No offense or nothing. And 'don’t say no'? I've watched some R18 stuff that's less rape-y than that. You said your Mom's not the one abusing you... hey, I'm not a Detective just from watching Case Closed, but are you... okay?"

He covers his mouth when he realizes he's gone too far.

She gasps when she realizes she went too far as well.

He picks at his fingernails.

She tugs on her hair.

"I guess I never thought of it like that. It's, like..." She stares distantly in the direction of Touma, not really focusing. "Yeah, I'm okay." She nods. "You don't get to be the best at something if you don't put your whole existence into it, right?"

"Guess not." Touma purses his lips. "S'why I never stop doing rakugo." He crosses his arms and jiggles his leg restlessly. "I don't know your life, doll-- I mean, Mariana. Just do what you're gonna do. I'm, uh, here if you need help or whatever?"

Mariana shrugs. "It's what I have to do, you know? It's like, um... It's fair. I'm, um... asking for it, you know? Looking like this." She looks down at her thighs again.

“No, I don’t think that’s true.”

"Well, my manager says it's a trade. My tutor said I made it obvious I wanted it. Souta wants to cut me open because I'm so beautiful. People can't control themselves around me, so I have to take care of them or else it hurts, right? I, like... think, you know, it's inescapable for me." She smiles, still looking away. "If I didn't want it, I wouldn't have flirted with you the second we were alone, right? I'm just... doing what I'm supposed to do for people."

Touma seems like he doesn’t know what to say. "That… sounds like shit, but, if you say so... I mean... I think nepotism is a big reason I'm an 'Ultimate'. It's how things work." He cuts himself short, as if having some kind of internal debate. "If I could argue for your self-worth, you could argue for mine... and it would make me a hypocrite."

He shrugs, cracking a meager grin. "Souta, though? The creepy surgeon? Kind of a freak thing to say. Do you need me to kick his ass?"

Mariana laughs. "Um, no, I think if you even pat him on the back he might die." She shrugs, curling her hair. "Guys like that just don't really know what to do around girls who give them attention. I think he's really, like, um... harmless? You know? He, like..." She laughs again, this time it's her nerves showing through. "He even drew some kind of, like... amputation porn of me, I guess. It's fanart, right? But, I don't think he's really doing anything wrong. He's just scared, you know? Um... I hope you don't think badly of him. I think he's probably a good friend."

Not that she's the best at picking friends.

He snorts. "He drew what? Does he miss the gurochan imageboard or something that bad? It's been like a day! I'd say you have to 'hand' it to him, but the phrase might give him a woody. Maybe find better friends, since I’m not a good one, either."

Mariana keeps smiling, even if she feels just a little bad. He's not wrong. It's... it's weird, right? To have drawn that? But, she feels guilty condemning Souta. She's not perfect either.

"Oh, my god, shut up!" She squeals, leaning forward to gently slap Touma's arm. "Of course you're my friend! A good friend! Especially since you're not my type. You're too nice, you know?" She sticks her tongue out, scrunching her face. "Not that Souta is either. He's... unique. He also promised to not touch me if I didn't say it was okay. That's, you know... special, I think?" Though, more and more people are telling her that now. "Just getting a peek at my butt makes it hard for people to hold back, so... at least he tried, you know?"

“Sure. ‘Special’.”

Ding, dong, ding, dong!

"Ahem, attention! This is a school announcement! It is now 10 PM. As such, it is now officially Night Time," Mononkuma says over the intercom. "Soon, the doors to the cafeteria will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay, then... sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the beg bugs bite..."

The intercom clicks. Touma’s chair squeaks as he pushes it back and stands up. “It’s been fun, but I’m going to do one of my favorite pastimes: holing up in my room alone. And my second favorite pastime: sleeping.”

“Oh, um, goodnight!” Mariana waves. “Boa noite! Thanks for talking to me!”

“You, too. Talking’s what I’m best at.”

Despite that fact, he leaves the room in a hurry.

\---

MONOKUMA THEATRE

“You know why horror movies are so boring for me-- besides the fact that I’m much scarier?

The monster always has a stupid motive!

The zombies are just hungry. The vampire needs to feed to survive. The twisted chimera is just sad that it exists and wants to lash out!

Boooooooring!

That’s why real life is much scarier!

In real life, everyone always thinks they’re doing the right thing. Any horrific act that a person can conceive can be justified to themselves and others!

In short: everyone thinks they’re the ‘good guy’.

Now isn’t _that_ scary?”

\---

**DAY:** ???

**TIME:** ???

**Please stop...**

**Let me go... I'm sorry for everything I did. I swear I'm sorry.**

**Please don't hurt me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry...**

**No! _Mariana,_ stop!**

\---

**DAY:** 4

**TIME:** MORNING

For once, Mariana misses the dreamless sleep. She's lying in her dorm bed, sheets ajar, blankets thrown off her sweat-soaked body. Goosebumps have raised on her skin. She struggles to catch her breathing.

It's not like those times. She used to accept what happened to her. If she didn't pretend she enjoyed it, the men would get mad. So she would moan and sigh words of praise. This was... this was something entirely different.

Her nerves had to be getting to her. She lays in bed and tries to calm her breathing down. Nothing feels real. She's distantly aware of Monokuma's morning announcement going off at some point, but she can’t make shape of the words.

Mariana doesn't care about going to breakfast for once. She feels bad about not supporting Meijin, but it feels like the students have made their choice between him and Yusuke already. Instead, she spends her time showering and putting on her makeup. By the time she's done, her bloodshot eyes are the only indicator of her stress.

When she opens the door to the hallway, she finds a neatly-wrapped gift sitting in front of her door. She picks it up, half-expecting it to explode. It feels to be about the size and shape of a book.

She unfolds the paper and finds that it is a book. It looks like it's a gift of some kind from the school store. 'Chilling Tales of True Crime', reads the cover. She flips through the pages, unsure if there's a hidden message. She finds nothing. It's all written in Japanese, even with some complicated kanji. Whoever gave her this would have to expect her to be able to read this well, unless it's a joke.

Is it a threat? Would someone leave this here to threaten her? Or is it mocking her? How would someone know about her interest in these cases?

She takes the book back into her dorm and begins reading.

"On a chilly November evening in 1988, Hina Sato walked out of her home and got into a strange car. Friends and family say they didn't recognize the car or the driver, and it was not a taxi, but she walked in as if expecting the person. She never was seen again," she reads aloud.

Just a bit more. And then another page. Before she knows it, she's spent a good part of the morning just reading. It's strange how reading about other horrific cases like this helps her get her mind off her current situation.

She inspects the book and the gift wrap one more time. There's no name, gift label, or anything on it. Maybe it's a mistake? But who would leave something like this outside someone's door rather than giving it directly?

Mariana's unsure of the answer, but she’s grateful for it. If she does nothing but focus on the situation at hand, no matter how dire it is, she'll go insane. She carefully tears off some of the wrapping paper and uses it as a bookmark. She can solve this mystery later.

\---

After a quick snack in the empty cafeteria, Mariana sets about finishing her task: talking to everyone about their motive tablets. She can't find Yuko, so she assumes she must be cooped up in her dorm still.

As she searches around, she hears grunting noises from the gymnasium. She peeks in and sees Ahoki in workout clothes, practicing punches and kicks on a sandbag. Her style seems uncoordinated, but her attacks slice through the air so fast that Mariana can hardly keep up. Without the leather jacket, Mariana can see Ahoki's toned arms work; the glistening muscles bulge and flex with every attack.

She doesn't want to end up as the new sandbag, but unfortunately, Ahoki saw her stare for a moment too long. "Oi, Mariana." She steps away from the sandbag and beckons her over. "C'mere for a sec. I wanna talk to you."

Mariana cautiously walks over, crossing her arms. "What is it?"

“Hey, um…” Ahoki grinds her teeth. She squeezes a stress ball, which pops.

Mariana frowns. “Won’t Monokuma get mad about, you know…”

“Destroying school property? He means like, security cameras and shit. He told me that he doesn’t give much of a shit about the stuff in the storage room.” Ahoki shrugs. “But anyway, um…”

“Yes?”

Ahoki shifts on her feet, sucking in a breath. "Listen, I..." She clenches her fist and gives the sandbag a light tap. "Dammit, I ain't good at this shit. Look, I'm tryin' to say I'm sorry for actin' out like I did. I had no right to threaten you or be so aggressive toward Meijin. Tryin' to be tough is my whole thing, but like, I went way too fuckin' far."

It's not at all what she expected to hear. Mariana keeps her guard up. "Um, like, it's okay. I mean, I'm kind of used to hearing that kind of thing. I grew up hearing that. And like, I'm sorry for snapping at you too. I don't want to fight here."

Ahoki nods, staring down at her feet. She visibly releases a deep breath, as if practicing anger management techniques. In the meantime, Mariana curls her hair around her finger. "If that's just how you are, I'll try not to get like, so defensive. But I think we have common experiences, like... maybe we could even be friends. So long as you don't still want to pop my implants and send me back to Brazil." She laughs. "First of all, they're real, so that won't happen."

"No shit, they're real? No offense or nothin', but I don't envy you. I bet you get lots of creeps with a body like that... if you ever need me to kick some ass, just call me over. I love putting old pervs in their place," she says. Airily, she adds: "One time a dude tried to feel me up on the train and I dislocated both of his shoulders."

"Oh, yeah, I... Definitely deal with my fair share of creeps." Mariana rolls her eyes. "It's... frustrating to be on the trains. I try to just move away, and not cause a scene. If I do, people will say that I should cover up my body more. Maybe I shouldn't look so tempting, I guess, is what they think." She sighs. "But, it would be nice to have someone have my back in those moments. I'd love to see you talk the way to you do to some of the executives at my talent agency."

"Damn... I fuckin' hate our society. Anyone says that a woman deserves it or some shit like that oughta get their face beaten in. They deserve it for not wearing a hockey mask to protect from me." Ahoki grinds her teeth. "Tch... I've talked to executives, filmmakers, politicians... all of em are just lonely old perverts who hate their wives and wanna talk to a cute young bitch. I can handle 'em. They think they're the shit, but they're just... shit."

"Yeah, like, right? I've gone out for dinners with so many executives, and managers, and agents, and they all look at me and talk to me the same way. They're easy to read, so... They're easy to get what you want from, you know? I don't want to sound like I like to manipulate people, but... Men in power sometimes need to be put in their place, you know?" Mariana twirls her hair, a little embarrassed. "Sorry, maybe that sounds a little crazy, but... I don't know, I feel like I didn't get into my position just by being pretty, I did it by learning how to work the room. I think, um, you do that, too, right?"

“Huh? Yeah, if you mean ‘scare their shriveled balls off’ by ‘work the room’.” She cracks a grin. “Turns out most of ‘em are into that, though... their submissive perfect Japanese housewives are too boring for ’em. Fuck 'em for thinking that.”

Ahoki stands up straight to her full height, stretching her shoulders as if there's a weight off her back. "But, yeah... me and my girls talked shit to each other all the time... and at my job, it's just how I talk, too..." Ahoki shrugs. "But, I wanna be a better person, or whatever. Scarin' people isn't always how I wanna be. I thought becoming a hostess would help make me a normal woman or whatever, but... guess not. It's only made me angrier in lots of cases, like I was sayin'."

Mariana taps her nails on her thigh. "Having a bad temper can be, like, a problem, but I wouldn't say it's something that makes you not a 'normal woman'. I don't think there is a way to be normal. Since like, even if you're a perfect Japanese housewife, men will still want to visit a hostess club to be talked trash to by a schoolgirl, y'know?" she teases. "So we should embrace how we are."

"No, Mariana, I mean..." She hangs her head. "Lemme just put it this way. Have you ever heard of the Skull Riders?"

An engine roars in her mind. When women have to walk alone to their cars at night, they would comfort themselves remembering tales of a gang of women- from runaway schoolgirls to scorned housewives- who threw away their past lives and took to the streets. They became vigilantes sworn to protect their fellow women and strike fear into the hearts of men. Some claimed they were an urban legend, while others swore that they were about to be taken advantage of by a drunk and violent man-- when all of a sudden, motorcycles surrounded them, and a gang of women beat the man unconscious.

_1988\. Hina Sato has never reappeared. Some fear that she was killed by her captor. Others have supported the 'Skull Riders' theory. Some eye witnesses have claimed to see a woman matching Hina's description, now in a face mask and a leather jacket bearing the Skull Riders insignia. Some believe that the Skull Riders rescued her from her captor and she joined their ranks, cutting all ties to her previous life. This has never been conclusively proven, and the credibility of witnesses is to be questioned. It remains only a theory._

"I've... heard of them," Mariana says.

(But does she 'believe' in them? Nobody ever came to save her.)

Ahoki's silent for a moment. She casually pulls off her sports bra, leaving her topless. Ahoki covers her breasts with her arm to prevent Monokuma from freaking out, then she turns around and shows her back.

Her back is covered with a full tattoo of the Skull Riders insignia: the female symbol, but with a skull in place of the circle. Burned, withering roses with curled vines full of thorns surround the symbol.

"I was one of 'em. I cut all ties with my family, dropped out, and took to life in the gang."

"Whaaat? You're in the Skull Riders?" Mariana gasps. Well, it's hard to deny. It doesn't look like a professional tattoo.

"Was."

"They let you leave?"

"'Let' is a strong word," Ahoki spits. As Mariana's eyes trace down her back to her waistline, she spots several scars littering Ahoki's body. "I didn't know what I was getting into when I signed up. I just had my Mom growin' up and she was a crackhead who tried tradin' me for drugs more than once. My school sucked, didn't know my Dad, always got bullied... I felt like I had nothin' to lose. So I threw my life away."

She stares wistfully up at the ceiling. "So I spent most of my life like that... ridin' around, learnin' their ways. I felt like I needed vengeance on the world. I woke up angry and went to bed angry."

"But, um, something must have stopped you."

"... Yeah." She sighs. "I dunno. The stories about the gang are all good. I think women need people to protect 'em in this shitty world. It's good to believe in 'em, and it's good if they inspire you. But the reality isn't like the stories. They're a group that needs money. I thought I was gettin' away from bein' sold, but I still got sold a few times. I felt like... I had the upper hand, since I was choosin' it. I was a Big Girl. I knew what I was doin'."

Before Mariana can comment, she looks her in the eye. "The day it became too much was when we were ridin' around town and saw this group of normal-lookin' dudes. And my Boss says, let's jump 'em. No reason. We're feral bitches; master commands, we obey. So we just jump them and start beatin' the living shit out of 'em. They weren't yakuza, or rapists, or whatever... just strangers."

Her eyes begin to mist over. "And I was just pounding this dude's head into the concrete, and he was sobbing and begging me to stop, and... I dunno why, but I stopped and looked into his eyes. He looked so alone and afraid... like, 'why me?'. I didn't have any reason t' do this. He _co_ _uld_ have hurt me, being a man, but... he didn't. I was suddenly hit with a metric shitton of guilt and empathy… all of it caught up to me. I thought I was helpin' the world, but... I didn't know anymore. A while after that... I left."

Her blood runs cold as the words from her dream echo in her head. She shakes her head and decides to take a chance. She pulls Ahoki into an embrace. "I'm so sorry, Ahoki. I've felt that, where it's like, you think you're the one in control. But in the end, you're still just no better off than you were."

After a moment, Ahoki returns the hug. "Yeah. I didn't have the balls to return to my Mom. Didn't think she wanted me. Only work I could find was becoming a hostess. I thought it would be a chance for me to talk to real, normal people an' get a grip, but..." She laughs dryly. "Well, they loved gettin' an authentic Skull Rider, so it became my whole shtick."

"Being a foreign model is just how the men in control of my life market me," Mariana says. She says it half-jokingly, but she means it. "I mean, like... I'm not actually from Brazil. I was born in Japan, and Japanese is my native language. But my manager said nobody would believe that, and that it would 'excite' men more if they thought I was a genuine foreigner, so... that's my secret."

"No shit?" Ahoki says. "Damn... they changed a whole part of your identity. For me, they just hold it over my head n' shit."

"But it's like... similar, right? I mean, I do think it's easier to just let people think what they want... I think people like Yusuke would never believe that I'm Japanese." She pulls back from the embrace, her hands on Ahoki's shoulders. "But I don't think you need to be tied down to your past. I really want to believe that this isn't just a bad dream, but it could be like... a new beginning? If we all just give up to Despair, we're never going to get out of here. That's why I was talking to everyone about their motive tablet things."

"Oh, yeah. Mine showed a friend from my former gang... someone I cared real deeply for." She winces. "It's weird, 'cause it's like... I left the gang, but I miss the people. I missed her. But she's a tough bitch. Even if she's captured, I think she can pull through, and... she would want me to fight, too. Well, not _f_ _ight_ , but... find hope, or whatever the shit."

"Yeah. Whatever the shit." Mariana grins widely. It feels like she's much lighter now. "Ahoki, thank you. I'm really glad I was able to talk to a friend like this."

Ahoki's eyes widen at the word 'friend'. A jagged smile spreads on her face. "Yeah... me too, friend." She laughs. "Damn, that sounded cheesy as shit. Is this what it's like? Maybe I oughta just call you my 'bad bitch for life' 'til I'm used to it."

"Bad bitches for life suits us!" She stretches. "Ugh, I feel like, so fat right now. I think I might work out with you, if it's not too much trouble."

"Hell yeah! Let's pretend the sandbag is Yusuke!" she says, casually putting her sports bra back on. Mariana forgot she was topless; she’s so used to dealing with other models. "Fuck stuck-up little bitch boys like that!"

"Yeah! Fuck ‘em!"

It's okay to exercise for a while, Mariana rationalizes. It's just getting her mind off the stress for a short while. She's made good progress and she trusts Meijin has too. Things will start looking up soon.

\---

Akira answers on the ninth knock. Souta's not sure if Akira wants him to go away, or if a combination of hunger and pain finally drives him from his room.

"I replaced the old food with fresh food." Souta hands over a tray of simple food items. "I can't prepare more myself... I have extensive food allergies."

If Akira minds the plain white rice from a box, though, he doesn't show it. He begins eating with his hands while standing in the door frame. Souta catches a glance at his bandages, stained and old.

"If you would like, I can change your bandages for you and take another look at your wound," Souta offers. "I do not want to push any boundaries... heh. However, I feel as if you may be in pain... I am just relieved that it doesn't seem as if you've been putting too much strain on yourself."

Akira blocks the entrance to his dorm with his body. "Meet me in your lab. 10 minutes. Don't bring anyone. If you betray my trust again or attempt to restrain me in any way, I'll make you regret it."

"Understood."

Only after Akira closes the door does Souta question how he knows about the talent labs.

\---

Unlike Mariana, Akira doesn't seem off-put by his lab. He doesn't need the student handbook's map to walk the hallways. He sits on the operating table as if it were a familiar armchair and slips his jacket off his shoulders.

It's not as bad as Souta had feared. There are no visible signs of strain. Hopefully, all Akira has been doing is resting. Souta treats the wound in silence.

"Akira... I apologize," Souta says.

"Hm?"

"I should not have restrained you like I did... I thought I knew what was best for you, but it only put you in more danger. I betrayed your trust as a medical professional." Souta bows his head.

Akira's answer catches him off-guard. "You did what you thought was necessary. If the roles were reversed, I likely would have done the same."

"That's unusual... I did not expect that answer from you. I expected more... well, hostility."

Akira squirms. The application of hydrogen peroxide or a needle piercing his skin for stitches hadn't bothered the boy in the least, but now he could barely sit still.

"I do not have the right to act like that anymore." Akira clutches the edge of the operating table, his knuckles running white. "In fact, I thought this may be an opportune time to issue to you an apology."

Souta frowns. "An apology?"

"Yes. When I first threw Monokuma, I did not expect he would have a replacement. I foolishly thought it would be simple to escape this game. Because of my actions in that moment and onward, I've created an irreversible wave of paranoia that's rippled through the class," Akira says. “Now I’ve realized it’s too late to stop it.”

As he sterilizes his equipment, Souta thinks on his words. It’s true that he had caused a lot of paranoia about the ‘traitor’, and had held Kuro and Mariana captive. But for some reason, when Souta tries to muster up his anger and resentment, he can’t find any. It’s like opening a familiar medicine cabinet and finding only empty pill bottles.

“It may be impossible to undo what’s happened, but you can make an effort going forward. I believe you can do the right thing, even if it’s in your darkest moment… heh. Not that I’m a medical professional for mental health…”

Akira’s back straightens. “I don’t know what the ‘right thing’ is. Is there a single ‘right thing’ I can do?”

“We have been trying to… build trust, you see, with the others. A point of contention has been over what to do with our motive tablets… I cannot share the contents of mine, but as far as I know… some have shown theirs to Yusuke, and some have asked Mariana to discard them.”

Akira’s hands grip the edges of the operating table so harsh that it looks like he’ll rip pieces off of it. “Tch… so a harsh schism has already formed. I suspected as much, when they took turns trying to interrogate me.”

“Ah… I didn’t mean to allow things to get to such a point, but…”

“I’m past apologies now, Souta.” He grinds his teeth. “Listen well. I have a feeling that I’m not long for this world. There’s a letter I’ve written that’s in my desk drawer. It contains the sum of everything I can remember, which isn’t much.”

“And if something were to happen, you would ask me to read this letter?”

“No. Listen closely to my instructions and I’ll share some of its contents now.” Akira leans in, beckoning Souta closer. He whispers: “I need you to find a time when you believe it’s unlikely that Monokuma is looking. You must then hide the unopened letter in the most strange place possible. Somewhere you think it will remain undisturbed.”

Souta locks eyes with him. “... May I ask why?”

“When she was speaking to me, Mariana covered a lot of topics. She mentioned that she suspected this game has run before. I think she’s right… but I think it’s run before with us as the subjects.”

“But… we’re still alive. Has nobody died yet?”

“I don’t know. But I have strong reason to believe this. Not only because I’ve found messages from myself already that I didn’t write, but… I have memories.”

Souta falls silent. Akira continues. “I can’t recall my talent. I can’t recall almost anything from before I entered the school. My personal life… my family… my friends. Nothing. But I have… fragments. I remembered your piercings before you put them on. I know names without having been introduced.”

“During your memories of this game… have we ever… ‘won’? In a non-violent way.”

“Not once.”

A strange mix runs through his veins of terror and ecstasy. “I see… heh… that’s unfortunate. I would pose you this question… you have been confronted about the fact that you’re not a member of our class. If you don’t recall your talent… perhaps you did not have one?”

“Think harder. I had an Ultimate Branch uniform. There must have been something.”

‘Ultimate Branch’. There it is again. But what other branches are there? Souta remains silent.

“I see,” Souta says.

“I don’t know what I am. Nobody else seems to ‘remember’ things like this. Even you doubt me.”

“I did not say that.”

“It’s written all over your face.” Akira stands suddenly.

“Wait… if you can’t recall anyone, what about your Motive Tablet? Does that provide any keys to your past?”

Akira storms toward the door. “You would ask me about mine when you said you refuse to share yours?”

“Listen--”

“I’ve said enough. You know what to do once I’m gone. My wounds have been healed, as pointless as it is.”

“Akira!”

Souta grabs him by the arm. It’s a weak grasp, really; he’s never had much strength. All his life, he’s been clinically underweight, unable to eat much or keep food down.

But, as light as he is, Akira picks him up as if he were nothing. The other boy throttles him by the throat with both hands and lifts him in the air. “I told you not to fucking restrain me.”

Souta tries to get a word out, but all that comes out is a wheeze. He can’t breathe. Akira’s hands crush his neck harder and harder, threatening to snap it in half.

And then he’s on the floor. Souta lays on the cool tile of the infirmary. He takes several desperate breaths. He recovers his glasses in time to see the look of horror on Akira’s face.

“I…” He stares at his hands. “No. I did that… What’s gotten into me?”

“I-it’s okay. You’re not a bad person,” Souta manages. “I promise. Do not do anything drastic--”

“Not a bad person?”

Akira stands in the doorframe, his back turned to Souta. He looks over his shoulder.

“Souta… I’m the Mastermind.”

\---

**DAY:** 5

**TIME:** MORNING

There’s a problem with the school’s layout.

If you come from the dorms, you have to pass by the storage room to get to the cafeteria for breakfast.

This hasn’t been a problem so far. But it is when a rancid smell ekes from inside the storage room.

Words come to fail Mariana. She operates in primal emotions. A heavy pit forms in her stomach. Bubbles pop in her chest when she sees someone she’s close to, like Meijin, stagger out of their dorm alive and well. But it only narrows down the list. Only worsens the dread.

At least she’s not the only one operating this way. Words aren’t exchanged, but she, Meijin, and Yuko nod at one another.

They open the door at the same time.

They see the sight before them at the same time.

They scream at the same time.

Because Mariana’s seen a real case of true crime, once, when she and her Dad stumbled on a murder scene. She still believed that there was justice back then-- that the police would get the bad guy and he would be the one rotting in jail. But Mariana knows there’s no justice in here. Someone is gone, and someone is going to escape the school for the sin they committed.

The computer terminal from which one orders items is cracked. The top-right corner of the terminal is caked with dried blood. Even more blood surrounds the delivery pad.

Akira Komura lies facedown, his arms and upper torso free, but the rest of his body crushed under a car engine. His blond hair is matted with red. His right arm is extended; a finger dipped in blood has written the word ‘SORRY’ on the floor. His blue eyes are wide open, locked in an expression of terror and sorrow, but there’s no life behind them. Not anymore. His jaw hangs open as if he spent the last moments of his life gasping for breath that wouldn't come.

Mariana both hyperfocuses on the details and feels the world start to fade out around it. It’s as if she were trying to look away from the true crime video and focus on the ‘real world’ to calm herself down, but she can’t look away. This is the real world.

Her sense of reality only warps further when the school’s cheery little bell sounds. _Bing, bong, bing, bong!_

Monokuma announces: “A body has been discovered! After a brief period of investigation, a class trial will begin!”


	6. Chapter 1 / Deadly Life, Investigation I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first investigation begins. Who killed Akira Komura? Who _was_ Akira Komura?

**DAY:** 5

 **TIME:** MORNING

It was about soccer.

The last real conversation Mariana had with her father face-to-face was about the soccer game they had just attended together. The soles of the little girl’s shoes were still sticky with spilled soda. The cheers of the crowd still rung in her ears when they found the body.

Her father called the police. He told Mariana not to look, but of course she did. The man they found was laying in a ditch covered in mud. He looked like he was taking a nap. He wore an expensive suit covered in dirt and twigs. It made Mariana think about how her mom got mad when Mariana’s jeans got grass stains on the knees from playing outdoors.

The days and months bled together after that point. They arrested her father. Thy had no other suspects. He was easy to pin it on. She testified in the trial. They tried to provide a Portuguese translator but she said she speaks Japanese. They didn’t believe her. Her father was found guilty. She didn’t get to say goodbye.

All they had been doing was chatting about soccer. It was the last conversation she had with her father. If they had taken another route home, Mariana would have forgotten completely about the conversation-- the exaggerated movements of her Dad’s arms as he spoke, the way he spit a little when he laughed. Their team had won that day and Papa was just glowing with energy, with life.

The last conversation that Mariana had with Akira was one-sided. She spoke to him while he was restrained to an operating table. Later on, she had left him makeup and beauty supplies, but she hadn’t tried to say anything to him through the door.

His face had been ashy pale. His blond hair had been matted to his head with cold sweat.

She _k_ new that anyone’s time could be limited in a killing game, but she hasn’t felt it until now. Akira is gone. She would never be able to talk to him again. He would never know his talent.

And when Mariana, back as a child with her father, saw the dead body of that strange man, she hadn’t seen details. There had been no gore and his face wasn’t visible. But looking at the scene before her causes bile to rise in her throat. Akira’s lifeless, glassy eyes stare on in horror. The car engine has crushed his back, pinning him like a rat in a trap.

Some students scream, some cry; it feels as if it’s miles away. She lapses in and out of focus like a radio losing signal. Her sense of time escapes her and she wants to reach out for her Papa’s hand and ask if the man in the suit is OK.

If she had just taken another route home, her Papa would be ok. And if she had just prevented Akira from getting free from his restraints, or if she took the bullet for him after he threw Monokuma… She should be under the engine instead. Smash her fat chest like two zits like she deserves.

Her grasp on reality only loosens more when Monokuma appears. He’s bouncing around happily, waving his little arms. She forces herself to focus on whatever he’s saying.

“... and for you little morons, I’m here to bring you the Monokuma File!” he’s saying. She only seemed to miss some taunts. “It’s a completely accurate autopsy! It’s not like I can expect you guys to do that part, since you’re a bunch of amateurs.”

“Wh-why do we need such a thing?” Reiko hisses. She’s turned completely around to avoid looking at the body. “Someone killed, right? So it’s over. They can leave.”

“Huuuh? Is that what you think?” Monokuma tilts his head, putting a paw to his chin. “Reiko… anyone can commit a murder! Any chump at all can kill a man and throw the body in a ditch, but only a real criminal mastermind can pin the blame on someone else and get off scot-free!”

“So you’re implying the killer has to get away with it,” Yusuke says, jaw clenched.

“Bingo! I want you to commit the perfect murder-- kill and get away with it!” Monokuma says. “I’m getting tired of explaining, so I’ll keep it brief: you pea-brained nincompoops have a little while to look around and figure out what happened. Then, we go to our Class Trial!”

He adds: “In the Class Trial, the student whose soul is Blackened will face off against you Spotless students. Once you discuss things, you’ll vote for who is the Blackened. If you get it right, the Blackened will be executed and you may continue to live here in peace. But if you get it wrong, everyone except the Blackened will be executed and the Blackened will Graduate from the school!”

A chorus of buzzes fill the room. Mariana holds up her Monopad and finds that there’s a notification next to the School Rules. Sure enough, it’s been updated:

TRIAL RULES:

#9: When a murder is committed in the academy, a class trial will be conducted. Participation in this trial is mandatory for all surviving students.

#10: If the killer (herein after referred to as "the blackened") is correctly identified during the class trial, only the blackened will be punished for their crime.

#11: If the blackened cannot be identified, or if an incorrect student is identified as the blackened, all students except the blackened will be punished for the crime.

#12: If the blackened survives the class trial, they are declared the winner. At which point, they will graduate from Future Point Academy and re-enter the outside world.

#13: If innocent students (hereinafter referred to as "the spotless") continue to survive class trials, the killing game will continue until only two students remain.

\--

Another tab has appeared that she’s never seen. It appears to be this ‘Monokuma File’. At the top is a full-color photo of the corpse right in front of her. Next to it is a diagram of the human body. On the diagram, it shows a head wound that was delivered to Akira’s left temple, and it shows that a large chunk of his spine, his stomach, and some of his pelvis were crushed by the engine.

\--

 **Time of death** **:** Night Time, approx. 1:34 AM

 **Cause of death:** Crushed

The victim is Akira Komura, the Ultimate ???. His body was discovered in the storage room, facedown upon the delivery pad, with his middle-to-lower body pinned underneath a car engine. He was crushed as the engine fell upon him from the delivery crane. The impact destroyed several lumbar vertebrae and caused significant damage to the spinal cord. The impact dislocated several ribs, which punctured Akira’s lungs and caused him to suffocate. It is estimated that death occurred a few minutes after impact.

Akira suffered blunt force head trauma shortly before his death and may have had a concussion. His arms were free and there was blood on his right index finger, but no wounds upon his hands.

It is noted here that he had a gunshot wound already from having defined Headmaster Monokuma, but it is unrelated to this case.

-

By the time she looks up from reading, Monokuma is gone. Akira is dead and they have to solve his murder. 

Mariana just has to focus. Just pretend the body is a thing, forget that it was a living and breathing person.

“Okay, a few things come to mind,” she says, trying to keep her voice firm and even. “First, the engine shouldn’t have been able to crush him. Hinako told us that the crane won’t lower if something is already upon the delivery pad, right?”

“Yes, that is correct,” Hinako says. “I must assume that it would not lower an object upon a living and breathing person such as Sir Akira if it would not lower upon a thing such as myself.”

Mariana ignores the self-deprecation. “It also lowers items, but the Monokuma File makes it sound like it just fell and crushed him.”

“Perhaps there was a system malfunction,” Kokoro speculates. “That would be too convenient, however…”

“Unless it weren’t an accident.” Yusuke crosses his arms. “We’ve established it’s a murder. This ‘Blackened’ attacked Akira, placed him upon the delivery pad, and then…”

“And then what?” Mariana asks, too sweetly. “Have you already figured it out?”

Chuya leaps to his defense. “They must have done something to make it fall! Otherwise it doesn’t make sense, right?”

Meijin steps in. “Let’s focus on what we can find rather than speculating. Somehow, the engine crushed Akira to death. The Monokuma File says he died about a minute after. He must have written that dying message with his last moments.”

Mariana takes a closer look at it, trying her hardest not to breathe in the stench of decay. Upon the concrete floor near Akira’s right index finger is ‘SORRY’ written in blood. It appears as if he dipped his finger in blood- likely from his head wound- and wrote the message.

“Either he wrote it after the engine fell, or… the killer wrote it, using Akira’s finger,” Mariana says. “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

“B-but, um, why would they write ‘SORRY’ rather than trying to pin the blame on someone?” Kuro asks. “Why would Akira himself write ‘SORRY’ instead of saying who killed him?”

“That, we don’t know yet. We should move on.” Mariana rises to her feet. “And some of us should split up. Too many people in one location might mean that evidence gets moved around, and if we’re being timed, then we need to spread out.”

“Perhaps we can find more about what happened to Akira before he died,” Nunosuke says. “It is the least I can do to atone for my failure.”

The students split up on their own. Everyone had been present, even Morihimo. The only ones who remain are Kokoro, Souta, Meijin, and Mariana.

Mariana’s torn between closing Akira’s eyes and avoiding potential evidence tampering. It feels wrong to just leave him like that. Nobody else objects as she finally squats back down and does so. He looks faintly more at peace with his eyes closed.

Kokoro has begun to investigate other parts of the room. Meijin sticks close to Mariana, shifting on his heels.

Then there’s Souta. He hasn’t left the room either-- not because he wants to stay and investigate, but because he’s having a panic attack. Holding himself, muttering, shaking, eyes darting wildly across the room. His neck is covered in dark bruises. Did he do that to himself?

“Souta,” she says, voice firm. She grabs his hand. “I need you to make sure this autopsy is accurate.”

The sudden contact jolts him. He reacts like he were slapped. Mariana pulls her hand back.

“Me?” Souta asks. “Me? Autopsy? You want me to--”

“I know it’s hard, okay? You can leave if you want to. It doesn’t have to be right now, so long as you can do it before the trial. But I want to make sure the Monokuma File is, um, legitimate.” She looks imploringly at him. “If anyone can do it, you can, okay? Just treat him like a patient.”

“I can’t-- I can’t do it. Akira, it was Akira… he…”

“Pull yourself together.”

He flinches. Mariana takes a breath. “We’re all upset, okay? I get it. But if we want to live, we have to do this.”

Souta takes several deep breaths. “We… we shall need to remove the engine first… that will tamper with the crime scene.”

“I think there’s nothing else to find with Akira as he is. There’s a photo of the body in its original condition attached to the Monokuma File,” Meijin adds. “Let’s lift it up.”

“I… I am not strong enough,” Souta says.

Kokoro waves from the computer terminal. Although the screen is cracked and there’s a bloodstain on the corner, it still seems to work. “The system is back online. There’s a ‘return item’ feature… we can lift up the engine and put it back.”

As the other students get closer, she gestures to the state of the terminal. “This, itself, may be a clue as well… ehehe. I found it in this condition, I assure you.”

“It’s far from the delivery pad, by design…” Meijin strokes his chin. “So I don’t think blood could have, uh… ‘splattered’ here from the body.”

Mariana winces at the mental image. “No, I don’t think so either. It’s like something hit the terminal.”

“Doesn’t that count as… ‘destroying school property’?” Souta asks.

“I would assume it’s ‘damaging’ school property, but it isn’t destroyed,” Kokoro says. “Monokuma is strict about his rules, but if so much as laying a finger upon something was worthy of execution, we would all be dead by now. I must conclude that breaking something completely by accident is excusable, but throwing Monokuma into a TV screen is not. For example.”

“Maybe Monokuma is giving leeway because this was used in the murder, too,” Meijin says.

“Hm.”

“One more thing: Ahoki told me that she can break stuff from the storage room without getting in trouble. So, I think Monokuma just doesn’t want us to trash the place and try to break out,” Mariana says.

“I see.” Kokoro writes the information down, her hand flying. “We could infer that the Blackened used this terminal as a weapon.”

“It’s affixed to this stand, which is bolted to the ground… did they lift it up somehow?” Meijin asks.

“It’s much more likely that the Blackened slammed Akira’s head into it…” Souta stares at the ground. “I shall look for any residual pieces of glass from the monitor in… Akira’s skin, in order to try and affirm this theory.”

“It gave him a concussion,” Meijin says. “So he might’ve been knocked out. Then the killer could put him on the delivery pad and… somehow crush him.”

“If I may do the honors?” Kokoro says. She selects on the semi-functional computer, ‘RETURN ITEM’.

The massive crane moves and clamps down on the engine. To the students’ collective relief, it doesn’t pick up Akira’s body. It lifts the engine and replaces it on the shelf.

Mariana forces herself to look at Akira's body. It's just as gruesome as she thought, but there's something out of place.

Holding her breath to avoid the stench, she walks over and plucks up a Monopad from where it was pinned underneath the engine. There are no obvious signs of damage. She tries to turn it on, but the screen stays black.

"This Monopad is broken."

"Maybe it's out of battery?" Meijin asks.

"Or perhaps it deactivates automatically upon the user's death," Kokoro says.

Unfortunately, there's little else to find. Taking his cue, Souta leaves. He returns shortly after with a cot. Meijin volunteers to lift the other end and they cart Akira away.

Mariana lingers for a moment, trying to put her thoughts in order. Kokoro waves her back over to the terminal.

"What is it?"

Kokoro points to the screen. "There's a log of items that have been removed. Plenty of miscellaneous items. Nothing was removed last night except for the car engine, shortly before the time of death."

Mariana looks through the list. The items that students have ordered are mostly small things, like bath products. She makes a mental note to return to it later if there’s time.

Shortly after, Meijin returns. “Souta demanded privacy in his lab to conduct the autopsy.”

“That’s fine.” Mariana breathes a sigh of relief. She’s holding herself together by a thread and Souta thinks he has the luxury of panicking. “I don’t know if there’s anything else to find here. We should canvas the first floor here and see if anyone else has found anything.”

“I’ll remain here,” Kokoro says. “There may be more to discover.”

The oversized spiral glasses make it hard to tell what Kokoro’s really feeling. Mariana’s not sure if she’s projecting when she thinks that, for the first time, Kokoro looks truly miserable.

\---

Mariana and Meijin find themselves in the boiler room next; it’s right nearby the storage room. The room has undergone renovations since the old school was first built. As the name would imply, there is a boiler that appears to be disused. More modern heating and cooling equipment has been installed, along with a water heater tank and a generator.

Chuya paces in front of the generator, holding the jacket of a gakuran. Mariana doesn’t know why until Yusuke steps away from the side of the generator. His undershirt is stained with grease and his long blue hair is tied back into a ponytail.

“I can’t figure it out,” he admits, angry at himself. “We had a much smaller generator at home. This generator has some… odd design choices.”

“What do you mean?” Chuya asks.

Yusuke wipes his forehead with a handkerchief and takes his jacket back. “Most generators have an automatic transfer switch so it comes on when power from the grid is cut off. I can’t find it on this one.”

Meijin interjects. “Does that mean the generator is the only source of electricity for the school?”

Both of them turn to Meijin and Mariana. Yusuke puts on a thin smile. “As far as I can tell. I’m not the Ultimate Mechanic. That’s why we could have a blackout without the generator kicking in to restore power. It wasn’t because power from the grid cut off; it wasn’t here to begin with.”

“So a blackout was caused by the generator failing,” Chuya affirms.

“Why are we not getting power from the grid?” Mariana asks.

“The Mastermind may have cut it off themselves,” Yusuke muses. “Since, I assume, this whole operation is laughably illegal. However, this does not seem like a small back-up generator. I believe that it was designed with the idea in mind of the school operating autonomously.”

“You’re so smart, Yusuke!” Chuya says.

Mariana ignores it. She needs to just get information. “So you’re saying the generator cut out last night?”

“That is what I believe, yes,” Yusuke says. “It might have caused a short blackout.”

“Can you tell if the generator died on accident or on purpose?”

“I believe it’s on purpose. Take a look.”

Yusuke leads the other three students around the side. A glass display case has been unscrewed from the generator, revealing a control panel.

“The controls were hidden behind this glass case. Likely, the Mastermind did not want us turning off the power,” Yusuke says. “I found it unscrewed when Chuya and I came here.”

Meijin looks closer. “How did the power come back on?”

“It may have been due to oversight,” Yusuke says. “Switching off a generator isn’t as simple as pressing a single button. They would need to disconnect the load, turn off the fuel valve, and then turn the system off. Ideally, you would want to turn off major appliances first, but…”

“So someone turned it off wrong?” Chuya asks.

“I assume. Please bear in mind this is all speculation,” Yusuke says. “If one were to manage this generator improperly, it may have caused a brief power failure. My generator at home had an alarm for major malfunctions, so an alarm may have gone off, and someone may have come to fix it. Maybe Monokuma himself.”

Monokuma doesn’t appear to confirm or deny this.

“Alarm? Wouldn’t more of us have heard an alarm in the middle of the night?” Mariana asks.

“Maybe we’re heavy sleepers,” Meijin says.

“I’m not!” Chuya boasts. “I sleep really light!”

Yusuke glances at her. “Did you hear an alarm, then?”

“Um… no.”

"I guess that answers it," Meijin says. "We should search if there's anyone who did hear it."

"My question is, how did someone get these screws off so neatly?" Mariana asks. She's aware of the innuendo in there somewhere, but she's too focused. "Did they use like, their fingernails?"

"Perhaps that or some other crude tool. I do not believe the storage room had screwdrivers or the like," Yusuke says.

Mariana looks at the screws closer. It would be possible to unscrew these without damaging them if someone weren't using a screwdriver, but it would be difficult. It would be much easier with the real thing.

A thought crosses her mind. She pats her bra and sighs in relief when she feels that she still has the key to the locked room stored away. So she didn’t lose it. But if someone got into the locked room, did they have a key of their own?

Meijin speaks up. “I have a question?”

“Of course,” Yusuke says, attentively.

He gestures to a large three-ring binder on the wall. It’s chained to a little station which houses it. “This looks like the manual for the generator. Couldn’t someone have just read this for how to turn it off?”

Yusuke removes the manual and thumbs through the dense contents. “If the Blackened were in a panic, they likely wouldn’t have time to read through all this-- hm?”

“What did you find?” Chuya asks, peering over his shoulder.

“This page is dog-eared. It’s about… fuel storage.” He squints as he looks over the page. “Fuel tanks are held below the school. This process describes how fuel is stored and used.”

“Huh…” Mariana can’t imagine why. Is this recent or not?

Every moment she leaves the wood shop room unchecked heightens her anxiety. “That was like, really helpful. But I like. Have somewhere else I need to search. Um, thanks again for your help."

Yusuke smiles, which gives her a chill. "We all must cooperate in a crisis like this," he says. The smile doesn't meet his eyes. "Let us know if there's anything else we can do for you."

\---

With Meijin following close behind, Mariana unlocks the woodshop room.

The motive tablets that she gained are stored on the shelving. There are no missing tools on the peg rack. Previously, at least one of each size had been missing.

“These were missing last time,” Mariana muses. They must have been returned.

Sure enough, one of the tools returned is a screwdriver. Mariana didn’t bring one of the nails from the boiler room, but just by eyeballing it, the screwdriver looks the right size to match.

"Hey, I found something broken on the floor here," Meijin says. "Was this here before?"

She glances over and finds him arranging some broken plastic scraps on the floor. She's about to dismiss it as litter when she sees the shape that they form-- it's a mold of the key to the locked room. The real one is tucked away in her bra; it has been since she got it.

"Whaaaat?" Mariana asks. "How did someone make a copy of this?"

"I don't know. I trust that you didn't lose it or give it to someone else, so it must have been done before you got your key. If there's another key to this room out there, I don't know why the owner would make a copy rather than just use that one," Meijin says.

"And they threw it away in here... they wouldn't have been able to get back in. They must not have needed it anymore."

Shit. This is going to lead back to her. After all, she's the only one with a key. She kept it hidden from the other students because she thought it would prevent accidents, but now she's just played herself.

The only person who had the key before her was Morihimo. Her stomach twists into a knot. Why does he keep playing games like this? What does he think he's going to gain?

“There’s more footprints in the dust, too,” Meijin notes. There had been a thick layer of it on the floor.

When Mariana first discovered the room, there had been footsteps that she thought belonged to Morihimo. She had left a trail while investigating, and then another one when hiding the motive tablets. The result is that there’s footsteps just about everywhere-- but hers are distinct.

There are fresh tracks similar to the first pair of footsteps- belonging to, ostensibly, Morihimo. It walks from the door to the tool rack, then all around the room as if pacing.

By following them, Mariana finds something tucked away in a corner: a bottle of pills. They’re stored in an amber glass bottle. The label states: “MONOPROFEN-- 800 MG. EXPERIMENTAL. PROPERTY OF FUTURE POINT ACADEMY RESEARCH DIVISION.”

“Monoprofen?” Meijin asks.

“Some kind of medicine.” Mariana frowns. “Um, it wasn’t here before. I don’t know if we should take it with us or not.”

“Maybe I’ll bring it to the infirmary later. There might be some info about it.”

The motive tablets are untouched. Mariana can’t find anything else. She tries to piece her thoughts together.

“I thought that, like, I was keeping this room safe by hiding the key… someone else could get in the whole time.” She tugs on her hair.

Damn it! How could she not see this possibility?! Just another reason this is her fault.

Meijin’s hand brushes hers. He looks away, embarrassed. “Hey, don’t pull your hair out- literally- over it. We just have to move forward now, right?”

“... Yeah. That’s what I told Souta, isn’t it?” Mariana sighs. Time to be a big girl. “Let’s see if we can get access to Akira’s dorm. It’s the only place we know he spent a lot of time, so like, it must have something. Besides, like, dirty tissues.”

“Dirty tissues?” Meijin’s face heats up.

“You know… from trying to clean up his wound all by himself.” Mariana sticks her tongue out.

“Oh…”

“Why? What were you thinking?”

Meijin is already out the door.

\--

When Meijin and Mariana come to Akira's dorm, Hinako is already waiting outside.

"Oh, Sir Meijin. Madame Mariana." Hinako bows deeply. "I hope a thing such as myself is not in your way."

Mariana doesn't feel like she has time for the pleasantries. "Were you going to investigate in Akira's room, also?"

"I was indeed, however, it is locked. There is no way to enter."

Meijin snaps his fingers. "Hey, Monokuma?"

"Here I am!" Monokuma says, having appeared. "You want to get into the dorm? Huuuh? Say 'please'."

Mariana sighs. Meijin rolls his eyes.

"Please?" Hinako asks, her mouth curled into a cute smile as always.

"Hm... not good enough!" Monokuma says. "How about 'pretty please'? Huh?"

"Oh, pretty please, Headmaster Monokuma, sir?" Hinako pleads.

"You'll just say anything someone tells you to, won't you?" Monokuma laughs. "Well, same as most teenagers, I guess. And just as hollow and brainless! Go on in."

"She's not hollow and brainless!" Mariana exclaims, but Monokuma is already gone. The lock on the door, where one scans their Monopad, has changed from glowing red to glowing green.

"Madame Mariana, there is no need to defend me." Hinako holds her hands to her chest, smiling gracefully. "He is correct. I am mostly hollow inside and I do not have a brain. I am a doll."

Meijin interrupts the conversation by opening the door. The state of Akira's dorm silences any further arguments.

It’s not just dirty, it’s intentionally a wreck. The bed, the focal point of the room, is completely unmade; sheets and blankets have been stripped, pillows strewn about the room. A mess of papers coat the floor. Pencil drawings of straight and curved lines run across the walls and ceiling. They don't form any letters or shapes, but there appears to be some pattern.

The only lights are the automatic ones overhead. The lines drawn on the walls connect to each fluorescent light fixture. Monokuma gave each of them a table lamp for some reason, but Akira's has been disassembled. All the parts are laid out neatly on the desk next to an opened envelope and a tablet.

Meijin walks in first, careful to avoid stepping on any of the papers. "It looks pretty, um... strange."

Hinako automatically begins to tidy up, picking up papers and putting them into a stack. When she lifts the bedsheet, she finds drops of blood dried onto the floor next to crumpled-up ace bandages. "Pardon me, but I have found a few bloodstains."

"Did Akira come in here after he got hit in the head?" Meijin wonders.

"I don't know if there was, like, enough time... if he came in here, why would he go back?" Mariana asks.

"Sir Akira had been wounded once already, no? Headmaster Monokuma punished him for disobeying the school rules," Hinako says. "If he weren't treating his wound properly, it may have bled. These bandages may have once been applied by Sir Souta."

Mariana makes a mental note of it. "It's a super good find, so like, thank you. Do you mind picking up all the papers? If it’s not a big deal, you were really helping out," she asks. "They might reveal something."

"Yes, madame."

Meijin has already turned his attention to the tablet. The size of it is smaller than the Monopads; this one is a motive tablet. Looking at Mariana for an unspoken permission, he presses the button.

The video begins playing. It focuses on Monokuma in front of a grey screen, staring at the camera.

 _"Akira Komura,"_ Monokuma says. _The student who cannot even remember his own Ultimate Talent... how sad! I bet right now he's watching this, hoping it will give some insight into the abyss that is his memory."_

_"And he's right! Let me just spell it out: this is your first motive! For everyone else, I showed them someone who they're close to. That person encourages them to do their best to 'Graduate' from Future Point Academy! I may have done some... gentle persuasion against their loved ones, mind you. But you can save that person you love by Graduating!"_

_"As for you, Akira... upupupu. Your loved one who will cheer you on is..."_

There's a drumroll. As it finishes, nothing has changed. Monokuma stares forward at the camera.

"Me!" Monokuma says.

Something feels surreal. Monokuma always tries to move and act like an animated character, but in real life. He bounces when he walks, he swings his arms widely, he holds his tummy when he laughs. It gives the impression that he's not just a robot-- which Akira learned first-hand when he threw the bear.

This time, though, Monokuma's movements are off. He's not moving of his own accord. It's as if someone, frustratingly just out of sight, dragging him by strings. After getting used to the current Monokuma, this one feels unnatural.

_"Upupu... that's right, Akira Komura. I'm the person who loves you the most. Don't flatter yourself too much! It's true that I love you a whole lot... but it also might be true that there's nobody else in the world who loves you, at all."_

_"Isn't that just so sad?"_

The feeling of unreality grows deeper as Monokuma's voice changes in pitch. Although it's usually laughable, like he's an animated character, the mask begins to crack; it almost sounds like a real person's voice beginning to come from Monokuma. At the same time, however, the video begins to glitch more and more. At first it's just a skipped frame, but then the video distorts, and the playback changes in speed.

_"My love is much more than theirs ever was, anyway."_

_"You believe that everyone deserves a second chance, don't you?"_

_"I bet you believe you can 'save' me, too. Because, even if you don't know it, you love me too._

_"Do you remember who I am yet? My name is just within your grasp._

_Find out..._

_AFTER GRADUATION!"_

When the video ends, all the three students can do is stare in stunned silence. Meijin is first to speak. “What… was that?”

“I cannot imagine that did much to quell Sir Akira’s worries,” Hinako says.

Mariana’s mind is spinning. So far, Monokuma has insulted them, misled them, taunted them, and committed lies by omission. Yet he hasn’t outright done something like this before.

It feels like a prank-- but if he made even one of the motives a ‘joke’, it would risk making the other motive videos feel invalid. That would drastically reduce the chances of someone committing murder, which he obviously doesn’t want.

But if she takes the video at face value, then what the hell is it? Akira had nobody who loved him, or who he loved? Not only that, but Monokuma claimed he loves Akira the most? He thinks Akira could ‘save’ him?

Who was Akira Komura?

The realization that it’s too late sinks in her stomach. She shakes her head to snap herself out of her stupor. She’ll relay these thoughts to Meijin later, but for now, they need to find all that they can. “Hinako, please keep gathering the papers. Meijin, can you look in the bathroom?”

Both of them seem relieved to have something to do again. As they work on their tasks, Mariana focuses on the letter. It sits right next to the motive video on the desk. The blank envelope has been ripped open, but there’s still a paper inside.

Curiously, she opens it. Her fingers tighten on the page as she begins to read the letter.

It reads:

_This isn’t a suicide letter. I am going to kill myself, and I will be long dead before anyone else sets eyes upon this. But I don’t owe anyone apologies or explanation._

_I am aware that my chosen means of death may cause this letter to become unreadable. If nothing else, writing this allows me to confess this sin._

_I am the Mastermind. I am the reason we are in this killing game._

_I first planned to take everyone down with me. I no longer am sure if I can go through with this plan. Enough blood is on my hands. The last life that I take will be my own. May I meet the fate I deserve in Hell._

_For what it is worth… to the one who I know created that video. May I meet you there._

“Was something of interest found, Madame Mariana?” Hinako asks.

Mariana still hasn’t fully processed it. “Um, yeah.” She puts it down on the desk. “You can read it if you want. I don’t know if I can, like, relay what I read.”

Should she, in her facade, be able to read Japanese? She lied about having trouble reading “gymnasium” earlier. It was only days ago, but it feels like years.

Fuck it. She doesn’t care.

“I have gathered all the papers I can find,” Hinako says. Her tone is oddly apologetic even if she performed her duties to the letter.

“Thanks,” Mariana says. She begins to sort through them as Hinako peers over her shoulder.

To her surprise, they’re legible. Akira had neat handwriting; it matches the letter. The pages are even numbered in the bottom corner, also by hand. The struggle is to read the densely worded text.

“It’s like, um… part of a manual… but, handwritten?” Mariana says. “The pages begin at the one numbered 15…”

It becomes apparent what kind of manual as she turns through the pages. Diagrams have been reconstructed by hand, showing the power generator that Yusuke had been observing. There’s even a diagram that shows the glass case and the screws. Akira drew a star next to that one as if to denote it as important.

“It’s for the generator in the boiler room. Um, we found out that it powers the whole school and it’s not just a backup.” Mariana doesn’t want to acknowledge that Yusuke had been useful for once.

“Is that so? Fascinating. I wonder what Sir Akira planned to do with this information.” Hinako tilts her head. “Perhaps he wanted to publish this manual he wrote for it.”

“No, I don’t think so. I only looked a little, but this is like… the manual that already exists for the generator. It was chained to the wall so it couldn’t get stolen.”

Hinako tilts her head to a perfect angle. “Is that so? Did he copy this and bring it back?”

“He must have… maybe because he couldn’t bring it with him.” Mariana shrugs.

She reaches a page that she does recognize-- the one that had been dog-eared in the actual manual. It shows fuel storage below the school. This page, in Akira’s replica, is starred as well.

“It appears as if this page in particular was important to him,” Hinako says.

“Yeah, for some reason,” Mariana says.

As much as she tries to process the words, it’s all dense informational text. It’s not as if Akira would just write out his plan, whatever he had been doing. She skips ahead a few pages.

“Oh, the page numbers have changed.” Hinako points to the paper that Mariana flipped to. “This is page 110… the last page was 25.”

“Are that many missing?”

“I could only find those…” Hinako bows. “I am so sorry. I will try not to disappoint you in the future.”

“Um, calm down, okay? I’m not upset,” Mariana says, in an upset tone.

Hinako remains perfectly still in a deep bow of apology, as if afraid to move. Mariana sighs.

The page title catches her eye. ‘MONOPROFEN’.

The contents of this page are also dense. It’s mostly about chemicals and chemical reactions. It’s completely unrelated to the generator.

Before she can read more, Meijin returns from investigating the bathroom. He has several items in his arms: a lighter, a half-melted comb, and a bar of soap.

“What do you have there?” Mariana asks.

Meijin sets out the items and gestures to the bar of soap. “So, I have a theory. If you look close at this soap, you can see it’s molded to the shape of a key. I think he might have used this lighter to melt the comb. The hot plastic would drip into the key mold and make a plastic key.”

“Okay. Why?” Mariana asks. “If he had the key to that locked room, why not just keep the key?”

“Sir Akira seemed rather… if I may… paranoid,” Hinako says. “Perhaps he was afraid he would become locked out of this room if he needed access. He created a duplicate key. Later, he may have lost the key by accident.”

An accident feels too convenient. But who could have taken the key from Akira? Nunosuke had guarded the door, but he eventually left. Akira could have left his room in the night and got the supplies he wanted. Nobody would be any the wiser…

… Except Morihimo, who was loitering in the hallways at night for some reason. She saw him crawling on the ceiling like a mosquito after she first returned from investigating the woodshop room.

"We need to find Morihimo and talk to him," Mariana says.

Meijin frowns. "Easier said than done."

Mariana wants to tear out her hair. Ugh! What's wrong with that little clown?

Hinako interrupts. "Pardon me. Before you go, there is one more thing I have been musing on.”

"What is it?" Mariana asks.

“I am somewhat familiar with electric wiring. My creator made some rather… advanced dolls,” Hinako says. “Please forgive me if this is incorrect, but could the drawings of lines on the wall be tracing wiring through the building?”

Mariana looks them over. They could be tracing the wires, or at least approximating their locations. They meet every light and electrical outlet. "Oh my gosh, I would have never thought of that! That's a great idea! It would, like, totally fit if he were obsessed with the generator and electricity. Amazing job, Hinako."

Hinako smiles.

"Still, the question is 'why'," Meijin says.

"Well, since he had access to the tools, I think... Akira was probably the one who unscrewed the glass case on the generator." Mariana scrunches her nose as she thinks. "And the letter... it was a suicide note, kind of? But he didn't want it to be? It's odd. But, I'm starting to wonder... if Akira did this to himself."

Meijin shivers. "It... could have been. But, isn't Monokuma acting like this is a murder?"

Monokuma pops out of the bathroom, even though he hadn't been there a moment ago. "Taking your own life still counts as taking a life! If there's a scenario in which a student commits suicide, a class trial will still be held! Buh-bye!"

He ducks his head back in the bathroom and vanishes.

Hinako taps her wooden fingers together. "How unfortunate. Monokuma did not confirm it is a suicide, but it may be a strong possibility."

"I feel like there's someone we need to talk to who would know a lot more," Mariana says, straightening her back. "Hinako, do you mind if Meijin and I leave now?"

"Not at all. It has been an honor." Hinako bows politely.

Her unblinking eyes stare at both of them until they leave.

\---

While they're looking for Morihimo, they find themselves in the cafeteria. It looks as usual, but the garbage can is overflowing with crushed cans.

"We didn't eat this morning, huh?" Meijin comments. "I can't even think about it now, though."

"Yeah, like..." Just the thought of Akira's body makes her stomach churn. "It looks like someone had something here, though."

Upon closer inspection, the cans are all empty seltzer cans. There's dozens of them and not a single other piece of trash. Some of them look as if a raccoon has chewed on them, but the only wildlife in the school is a certain bear.

Wordlessly, Meijin rolls up a sleeve and shoves his arm in the garbage can. His eyes widen. Retracting his arm, he pulls out a bloodstained crowbar.

A single, "What?" is all Mariana can manage. As if this day couldn't get any more surreal.

"I just had a hunch," Meijin says. "Usually the trash gets taken out each night..."

"So do you think someone hid this here this morning?"

"Maybe. Or, if this is related to the murder, Monokuma might have left it deliberately."

Unsure of what else to do, they put it on the table nearby. The end has a few small dried splatterings of blood. It's not a severe amount, however.

"Um, maybe I should bring this to Souta?" Meijin suggests. "I don't want to interrupt him, but so long as he has... Akira... maybe he can test if this is his blood."

"It might be bad to interrupt him during the autopsy... but I don't want to run out of time." Mariana weighs her options. Finally, she says: "I'm going to keep looking. Morihimo has usually, um... talked to me alone, anyway. Will you be safe?"

"I'll do my best. You do, too, okay?"

"Okay."

They linger, gazing into one another's eyes, as if for the last time. Finally, Meijin takes the crowbar- holding it like a bomb- and walks out of the room.

Mariana decides to take a shortcut through the kitchen. Inside is a strange sight: Yuko, arranging produce on the shelves and crying.

"Yuko?" she calls out.

She nearly jumps out of her skin. Yuko swivels on her heel, eyes wide.

"O-oh! Mariana!" Yuko laughs a little too hard, adjusting her hat. Her hair underneath is wild and uncombed. She wipes her eyes on her sleeve. "Hi! W-welcome to magical postmistress Yuko's cleaning program! I'm super duper good at it 'cause, you know, I sort mail!"

"Yuko, are you okay?"

"Yeah! Totally! Like, a thousand percent!" Yuko says. Her energy is manic. "Wh-why would you ask?"

"You were crying," Mariana says, bluntly. She's too emotionally drained to be comforting. "Why are you cleaning in here? What happened?"

"Nothing!" Yuko says. "Nothing nothing nothing! Like, so much nothing it's hard to even say! Which is funny 'cause it's nothing."

Wordlessly, Mariana steps forward and closes the gap. Yuko squeaks as Mariana wraps her arms around her back and pulls her in. Due to their height difference, Yuko's face is buried in Mariana's boobs.

"It's okay," Mariana says, trying to muster up some sympathy. "It's all been really scary. You can tell me anything, you know that? I'm just like, a foreigner, so I probably won't even remember the complicated Japanese words you tell me."

Yuko's silent for a moment. Mariana's not sure if she suffocated her or crushed her head, but a moment later, she hears Yuko giggling. Her face is beet-red and drunkenly happy. "Mariana, your boobs are like, enormous."

Mariana laughs. "They're, like, my two biggest assets." She sticks her tongue out teasingly. "Do you feel a little better? I'm here for you, Yuko."

"Um... yeah. Okay. I should cooperate, 'cause like, a letter isn't just a sheet of paper. It takes an envelope, and a stamp, and a recipient and a sender. Basically a whole team."

"Like, exactly! I never thought of it like that. You're so smart, amazing postmistress Yuko!"

Yuko soaks up the praise like water to a bone-dry sponge. "Heehee... I know! I'm just smart like that!" she says.

Even though her mood seems to have improved a bit, Mariana can't see Yuko the same. It's like when a doll cracks. It can be put back together, but the crack will always be visible in one's mind. Is this how others see her?

Before she can contemplate more, Yuko starts to talk. "So, um, like... it was a mess in here, and I decided to clean up. Since that's one of the few things I'm really good at and all!"

Baby steps. "Do you know why it was a mess?" Mariana asks.

"Um, I mean, kinda, I dunno..."

"Yuko. You _are_ good at a lot of things, like... being adorable, and running super fast, and delivering letters, and sorting mail, and finding people so you can give them letters." Mariana stares Yuko in the eye. "But, um, you aren't the best liar. And most would say that's a good thing. But I need you to be honest with me. Something really bad has happened and we all need to work together, ok?"

"I know. Akira's dead."

Despite the flat tone and the bluntness, Yuko keeps her smile on. She strikes one of her many magical-girl style poses, but halfheartedly. "Yep. I know the whole story. I don't wanna know it, and I wanna go home, but I'm not too stupid to get it."

"I'm not saying you were--"

"I know. But, like, that's what everyone thinks, isn't it? 'Cause I wanna act silly. 'Cause I wanna forget I'm in here."

Mariana bites her tongue. She takes a breath. "Yuko, everyone just thinks I'm a dumb foreigner. It's easier to play into things like that, I get it. I'm not trying to talk down to you. I've been trying to pry you open so I can get some useful information out, or at least like, comfort someone else who's hurting. But if you don't want to cooperate, then--"

"Screw it. I will." Yuko takes off her hat, wringing it in her hands. Her smile fades. "The kitchen was a mess because there was a fight here last night."

"A fight?"

"Yeah. Ahoki came in here with her crowbar. She drank a lot of seltzer, and..." Yuko steadies herself. "I was already hiding in here with a knife."

Mariana tugs on the edges of her hair. "And you guys fought last night."

"After the motive tablet thing, I was... broken. I didn't leave my room. I didn't eat or drink. I felt like I was dying, and dying, but death wouldn’t come. Finally, I came out to the kitchen... it was night. I told myself I was getting a knife to defend myself, but..." Yuko looks away, ashamed. "I was afraid of the truth. I wanted to take an opportunity. I needed to save my girlfriend, no matter the cost. When Ahoki came in with that weapon, I told myself it's 'self defense', and..."

She pauses, gulping. Mariana waits patiently. In her mind's eye, Mariana can picture it-- Yuko taking off with her fast speed and reflexes. Ahoki reacts just in time and counters; the blade catches the crowbar. With combat prowess that only a former gang member could possess, she would strike back fast and hard, almost certainly drawing blood. With the element of surprise lost, Yuko would be forced into a defensive battle, trying desperately to end it.

"... I attacked her. We fought. It felt like it was for an hour, but it must've been just a few seconds."

Yuko's eyes fill with tears again as she speaks. Her expression isn't cutesy, magical-girl style crying; it's wrinkled in anguish, her teeth clenched in anger.

"We drew blood from each other, and a lot of stuff got messed up in here. Then... I don't know what happened." She stares down at her feet as tears fall to the ground. "I just couldn't do it. I couldn't stand the idea that I was going to trade someone else's life for my girlfriend's. If I went through with it, Rinka would never speak to me again, and she would be right to. It would be disgusting. I could never look at myself in the mirror as long as I lived.

"So I dropped my weapon. I lowered my head and expected her to hit me and end it. But then, she... dropped hers, too. I don't think we said anything, but we had some kind of understanding. Next thing I knew, we were hugging each other and just sobbing."

She tries to keep speaking, but all that comes out is a choked noise. Yuko holds her hat up to her face to hide it as she cries.

"Trying to kill someone obviously wasn't a good thing, but it took incredible strength to stop yourself," Mariana says. "And I really, truly respect that. You're not a killer, Yuko, and Rinka knows that and loves you for it. These videos have everyone at their worst. This isn't normal for you, and it says more about you that you stopped even if it could have cost your life."

"Th-thanks." Yuko takes a shaky breath. "After that... I cleaned up the knife and put it back. Ahoki threw out her crowbar. She was drinking a lot of seltzer for some reason, so she hid it under the cans. We both went back to our dorms. I don't know about her, but I collapsed from how tired and stressed I was. I came back here this morning to clean up the rest of the mess."

Yuko's story makes sense. But, if it's all true, why would Monokuma leave the crowbar and kitchen untouched? Was it out of principle, to make investigating the murder more interesting? Or is there something more?

"Mariana, I owe you an apology," Yuko says. "When you came in here, I panicked and jumped back into 'Magical Postmistress' mode. And then I was even rude to you as if you don't get it. I'm sorry."

"Um, no, like... it's fine. I'm really used to it." Saying that might not make Yuko feel better, but it's true.

"After all that happened, I tried to pretend things were fine still, but I couldn't. I've been put down a lot through my life, so I just turn inward and ignore it. I imagine zapping my problems with a magic wand. But now I have to face them, even if it hurts." Yuko juts out her jaw in determination. "I dunno if this will help, but I wanna tell you the other weird thing that happened last night."

Mariana tilts her head. "What is it?"

"Well... I heard some weird stuff.”

With all the excitement, Mariana nearly forgot to ask about the possibility of the generator’s alarm going off. “What did you hear?”

“I think it was a ghost. I was walking back to my dorm. Nobody was there, and all the lights were off. You know how usually the lights turn on when you walk under them? They weren’t turning on.” Yuko’s face goes pale. “I heard this screeching kind of sound. Then I heard... weeping? I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I went and hid in my dorm after that. I think Ahoki was already in her dorm."

All the lights were off... was this during the blackout? "You went straight to your dorm? You didn't interact with anything, like... the generator, or?"

"No. My Grandpapa, Papa, and all my brothers always handled the maintenance stuff. Wouldn't even let me watch." Her face crinkles up in disgust. "Even if I wanted to. So I don't know anything about generators."

“Do you think the screeching was an alarm?”

“I couldn’t say for sure. It was so loud that my ears were ringing. I barely heard the crying after that. When I went to my dorm, I couldn’t hear it anymore, though.”

An idea hits Mariana. “Are the dorms soundproof?”

“I think so,” Yuko says. “If… you didn’t hear me screaming after I got my motive video, then, yep! Because I scream loud. Ahaha!”

“Oh. Me too.” Mariana smiles joylessly. “Yep, so they’re soundproof. No wonder anyone heard anything. But like, I’m sorry, Yuko. You were in so much pain and I didn’t even know to come help.”

“It’s probably best that you didn’t.” The humor fades from Yuko’s face. Mariana shivers; she realizes again she’s talking to someone who tried to commit murder, even if she stopped. “Now… I just don’t know. I still hurt like I’m bleeding to death all the time, but I’m not. I’m used to doing super long mail routes where my legs and feet feel like they’re snapping with every step, but I gotta press on. So I’ll keep pressing on now, too.”

"I see... thank you, Yuko. You’re really brave." Mariana has another thought. "Something I'm wondering is if- and I don't know how familiar you are with the crime scene- Akira wrote that dying message or not. Are you good at analyzing handwriting?"

"The best," she says, sincerely. "I've seen so many letters, I know just about everything about handwriting."

"Do you think you could match the dying message to something else Akira wrote? He has notes in his dorm room, which Monokuma opened up for us to investigate."

Yuko salutes. "I'll get on that right now! I'll keep in touch with you, okay, Mariana?" 

"Okay! Stay strong, girl! I believe in you!"

With that, Yuko runs out the door. Mariana takes a moment to inspect each knife in the block before moving on.

\---

As Mariana tries to think of all the places that Akira had been before his death, she winds up visiting the infirmary. Her mission to find Morihimo and speak to him has become secondary-- the tricky jester has proven that he'll only be found when he's ready to.

That doesn't mean she'll give up on looking, though.

Touma, Reiko, and Kuro are in the Infirmary together. Reiko and Kuro are arguing.

"-- such devil medicine could not have been the cause of death. It would have been stated," Reiko huffs.

"Well, maybe he didn't DIE from the drugs, but they couldn't'a helped!" Kuro has her hands on her hips. Her country twang is slipping out when she's in the heat of an argument.

"Um, what's going on in here?" Mariana interrupts.

The two girls turn and look at her, embarrassed. Touma finally takes the earplugs out of his ears. "Thank god, here comes the mediator."

Mariana resists the urge to snap at him. It's fine. It's okay. She definitely has time to get in the middle of whatever this is during a _murder investigation_. "One at a time, please. It’s hard to understand when you both talk at the same time. And please stop fighting so nobody else gets hurt, okay?” 

Kuro butts in first. "So we discovered that there's all these experimental medicines that some former Ultimate Pharmacist made, right? They wanted to like, make all sorts of cool stuff, like... a pill that increases your IQ, or a pill that cures all your pain instantly. The Pharmacist made a single bottle of pills called 'Monoprofen'... I assume 'Mono' 'cause you only need to take one pill and the pain's gone, not because of Monokuma... or is it so?!" She makes a 'dun dun dunnn' sound.

"Get to the point," Reiko snips.

Kuro huffs. "Anyway, Monoprofen is missing from where it's s'posed to be in the labeled thingy. There's a binder here that explains each drug and what's capable of and the side effects. Do you wanna know the problem?"

"What?" Mariana asks.

"Monoprofen had a bad side effect. When it was exposed to gasoline, it would cause an explosion. It's why it never took off commercially, I guess... I bet they sold explodey-pills to secret military groups, though." Kuro, pleased with her own idea, scribbles it on her arm as if she's taking notes for a hot gossip column.

"So... the pills that made an explosion were missing," Mariana notes. She’ll keep to herself that she found them in her locked room right now. These two seem volatile enough; she doesn’t need them turning against her right now.

"Yes. May I speak?" Reiko begins.

"Please do."

Reiko, taking several deep breaths from behind her hospital mask, clutches the magatama around her neck for strength. "First of all, in my village, such medicines are as foreign a concept as magic wands. As far as I'm concerned, all of this medicine is peculiar, not just the... experimental ones.”

“But, like, you wear a hospital mask all the time, even right now,” Mariana points out. 

“That is different,” Reiko huffs. “Now, please forgive me if I make any misunderstandings, however... the _only_ side effect listed is that Monoprofen can explode when exposed to gasoline, correct?"

"Yeah, but--" Kuro begins.

Reiko holds up a finger. "In fact, the clinical trials proved that almost all patients said that it significantly decreased their pain. Although only a few trials had been conducted, um... there were no side effects for people. Still, the possible explosion was too much of a risk to bear."

"But there's still so much we don't know!" Kuro says. "You just said it, the tests weren't complete! And, like, how do we know that it wasn't used for somethin'?! Betcha that Akira ate one and then gasoline got in his mouth from the engine and his stomach ‘sploded."

Reiko speaks slowly, as if explaining something to a child. "How would gasoline have gotten in his mouth? The engine fell on his lower body and killed him.”

"Well, just... I dunno! It's too weird!" Kuro says.

Mariana steps in between them. "Look, it's good to investigate. We're all trying to get to the bottom of this. But standing around arguing _now_ about 'what-ifs' is probably going to slow us down," Mariana says. "We need to save the debate for the class trial and find as much as we can in the meantime, right?"

Both Kuro and Reiko look down at the ground, ashamed.

"Yeah. Sorry," Kuro says.

"Apology accepted," Reiko says.

"Hey!"

Mariana puts a hand- firm, but not harsh- on Reiko's shoulder. "Reiko, that’s not very nice. Apologize to Kuro for how you acted too. My Mamae always said an argument never involves just one person."

As soon as Reiko lets go of the magatama she's holding, her face falls; her nervous eyes can barely look at Kuro. "U-um... yeah. You're right, Mariana. I'm sorry, Kuro."

Kuro pouts. "Hmph."

Jesus! As much as Mariana wants to just throw them both in time-out like they're two babies with temper tantrums, she doesn't have the time. It feels more apt of a punishment to just walk away from them and ignore them. "Touma, have you found anything?" she asks.

Only when she approaches does she notice how disheveled the boy is. Although he's usually well-groomed, today his hair is a mess and his yukata is inside-out. The dark circles under his eyes are only magnified by his glasses. "Kinda. There was a box of regular ol' painkiller tablets on the floor, near the garbage. Someone missed while throwing them away."

Touma turns to her, a smile curled on his lips. The natural storyteller can make anything sound intriguing, even misplaced garbage. "The problem? There was a clue inside-- or rather, the remains of a clue. Inside the box, there was just a note from Monokuma that said: _'C_ ongratulations! You've found Key #1! Why not relieve the pain of claustrophobia by expanding your school a little bit? All the kids love crafting these days!'. Dunno if there was even medicine in the box originally."

"Oh my gosh!" Mariana says. "So the first key was in here! Crafting... it must refer to the same room I got a key for, the locked woodshop room."

Touma shrugs. "I wouldn't know, but it sounds right. Someone definitely found it in here."

Mariana tries to piece things together. There had been a period of time on Day 1, after Akira was shot, that he had been in the Infirmary alone (and/or with Monokuma). If Akira had been the one to find the key, then he could have made a duplicate later in his room. But hadn't he gone straight from the infirmary to the gymnasium to hold Kuro, and then Mariana, captive? From there, he collapsed and had been taken back to the infirmary by Souta. Once he escaped the infirmary on Day 2, he went right back to his room and locked himself in. The next time the class as a whole had seen Akira, he was dead.

Morihimo had given her the key in the afternoon on Day 2, when Akira was locked in his dorm. Akira could have made the duplicate by then, so he could access the locked room whenever he wanted. But when, then, could Morihimo have gained the key?

Mariana returns to the matter at hand. "Have you been doing okay? You, um, don't look so good."

Touma gives a halfhearted shrug. "I'm fine." Fully aware that she won't take that as an answer, he decides to elaborate. "I know I played it off, but I guess the video of my gramps kidnapped has been really gettin' to me. I couldn’t sleep at all last night."

"I understand. Like, um... my Mamae wasn't always perfect, but I love her, you know?"

"Yeah." Touma gives a tight-lipped smile. "Gramps was always just trying to help me out in his own way. Always told me to 'be a man' and stuff. I think if it weren't for him beating some sense into me, I'd be hiding in my dorm and crying right now. I gotta step up and help my classmates."

"I dunno, that sounds a little, um... toxic?" she says. She's tiptoeing over a line here.

"What's the world itself if not toxic?" Touma chuckles.

Mariana won't argue. "Um, don't be afraid to rest, though. Even if it's just for five minutes before the trial, it's like... a quickie is better than nothing at all!" she laughs. "You're not even wearing your Golden Microphone Pin!"

Touma pats his collar where the pin used to be. "Ah, nuts. This thing's inside-out too."

"Yeah, like... I barely even put on makeup this morning," Mariana says, with a full face of makeup.

A silence falls over them. Touma takes a breath. "Mariana?"

"Yeah?"

"I like... don't wanna say this. I know that you're all buddy-buddy with Meijin." He looks her in the eye. "But he was alone in the room with Nunosuke when the restraints got released on Akira, yeah?"

"Well, like... I dunno. Morihimo distracted Nunosuke. Souta and Nunosuke probably both had the chance to be alone with him." She feels her heart racing. She can't deny the possibility that it’s Meijin’s fault. "And you made Nunosuke laugh so hard that he doubled over, right? You could have done it then."

"Believe what you want. I know you said it's too soon to jump to conclusions," Touma says. "But when the time comes, I hope we can make the right choice."

Mariana bites her tongue. She would have said more, but Meijin just entered the infirmary. "Mariana, there you are," he says, waving. "I couldn’t find Souta. He wasn’t in his lab, but I think he finished the autopsy. I left it there with a note.”

"Really? He left the body unattended?” Mariana asks, exasperated.

“It’s not like he’s gettin’ deader,” Touma says.

“Yeah, but…” Mariana bites her tongue. “It’s just unprofessional. That’s all. Anyway, Meijin, I’m sorry. We might not need the blood analysis, which is fine because Souta’s not doing his job anyway. I’ll explain later.”

Meijin nods. “Got it.”

“Thanks, Meijin. Did you see anything else on your way?"

"Nope. I don't know where else to look..."

Mariana wracks her brain. "All I can think would be to ask others their alibi until we can find Morihimo."

"Sleeping, but not well," Touma says. "That's my answer. Hard to confirm or deny it since nobody sleeps with me. Even my ol' teddy asked if we can have separate beds!"

"I was sleeping too," Kuro pitches in.

"I was as well," Reiko says.

Meijin sucks in air through his teeth. "I guess that's the problem with a crime that happens in the middle of the night."

“And nobody heard anything? Like… an alarm?”

They just all look at each other in silence. “Guess not,” Meijin says.

Yuko's words come back to mind. Mariana turns to Reiko. "Um, can I ask a question? You're a shrine maiden, so you know about spirits and stuff, right?"

"Of course." Reiko's glare sharpens. "Some people think it is just a part-time job, handing out fortunes and looking cute. From where I hail, that couldn't be further from the truth. To venerate the kami is why I draw breath."

"I see. Very interesting how things are done here in Japan." In Mariana's experience, though, her Mamae would just take her to get a fortune on New Year's and that was the end of her experience with shrine maidens. She might have applied, but they wouldn't want a dark-skinned girl. "Um, so, someone I talked to said they heard a ghost last night... like a weeping spirit of some kind. Do you know anything about that?"

Reiko's eyes close as she ponders the question. She clutches the magatama. It's as if strength seeps back into her body; her posture straightens and her nervous trembling stops. "If this occurred after the murder, then it may have been Akira's spirit. I spent significant time praying for Akira to appease his restless soul; however, that only occurred upon my discovery of his body," she says. "It's believed that if the deceased members of a family are not honored, they will wreak havoc upon those who have forgotten them. This is the importance of always honoring family above all else."

"Do you think Akira would have been upset because we forgot about him?" Mariana asks. Akira's strange motive video replays in her mind. "Or... do you think he feels like he was forgotten by his loved ones? After all, he didn't really seem to be close to any of us."

"It may be the case. Unfortunately, I did not encounter this spirit myself. Otherwise, I would have taken action. I've had to calm many vengeful spirits from my village." Reiko's fingers toy with the magatama. It looks like it's glowing-- or maybe it's a trick of the light. "If the spirit were weeping, it's likely that Akira felt great despair before his death. The souls of the murdered, though, rarely may rest in peace."

Her voice trails off. She wavers. "Um, but... if it's not that he felt forgotten or abandoned, maybe there's something unfinished that also hindered his ability to move on... I'm sorry, I don't know more."

"No, that was, like, super helpful." Although Mariana uses her typical 'valley girl' tone, she can't muster up the enthusiasm. The result sounds disconnected. She puts on a smile to try and convince Reiko she's grateful. "Thanks for, like, praying for Akira and stuff. It's a better way to be on your knees than the way I do it. But then again, I can get results and good fortune much faster."

"What do you mean?" Reiko tilts her head. "Are you religious, Mariana?"

"She means sucking dick!" Kuro yells at the top of her lungs.

Reiko draws a paper fan and begins beating Kuro over the head. Meijin and Touma stare in awe as Mariana tries to pull them apart.

\---

"Morihimo!" Mariana calls.

"Mori--hiiiimo!" Meijin calls out as well.

Their voices echo in the halls, but nobody responds. They had already checked the dumpster, the woodshop room, and all the other suspected hangouts. They had even knocked on Morihimo’s door.

“So, let’s talk,” Meijin says. “The blood analysis isn’t needed?”

Mariana bites her lip. It feels wrong to just expose Yuko’s secret. “Um, yeah. I promise I’m not trying to keep things from you, but like, I talked to someone and… there was a fight last night that probably wasn’t involved in the murder.”

“Probably?”

“I can’t rule anything out.” Mariana pauses. “And, like, I didn’t want to say this in the Infirmary, but they were saying that Monoprofen was missing from their cabinet of experimental medicines.”

Mariana relays the information to Meijin. “... and I think that Akira must have copied notes from the manual about experimental drugs, because I found a page about Monoprofen in his dorm. He must have wanted to use it for something.”

“Probably not to relieve pain.” He frowns. “So, you were in that locked room to put the tablets in there, but you didn’t see the medicine there before… so the bottle probably was put there last night.”

“Akira must have been carrying it, along with the tools, since he unscrewed the glass case.”

Mariana feels like she wants to look at Akira’s dorm again. There’s more here than meets the eye. She walks toward Akira’s dorm when there’s an explosion of sound.

Souta bursts out of Akira’s dorm, eyes like two saucers. “I can’t find it!” he yells. One of Akira’s copied papers flies out behind him from the motion.

Hinako runs out after him. “Sir Souta! I am so sorry I failed you! I searched everywhere!”

“I need to find it!”

“Sir Souta!”

“Hey!” Mariana stands in front of Souta before he can run (or, quickly limp) away. “What are you looking for?”

Souta notices her for the first time. He doesn’t even stop to say something creepy or undress her with his eyes. “There’s something that I have to find. Something Akira left behind that could be very important… please excuse me.”

“Did you finish the autopsy?”

“Yes. I can explain more in the trial.” Souta’s eyes are bloodshot, darting about frantically. “But I can tell my time is limited. I must--”

The intercom hums to life.

“Attention! This is a school announcement!” Monokuma says. “It’s time for the Class Trial to begin! Every student is required to show up to the waiting room at the end of the hallway immediately!”

“NO!” Souta yells. He slams his fist weakly against the wall.

“Souta! What were you looking for?!” Mariana demands.

“A letter. He told me he left a letter that would explain everything.”

Hinako looks more anxious than Mariana has ever seen her. “I showed him the letter, Lady Mariana, I promise! Sir Souta simply said it’s not correct.”

“There has to be more!” Souta yells.

“Well, we’re out of time. We have to get to the trial and figure this out.” Mariana shrugs, exasperated. “Maybe, like, we’ll find it afterward? I’ll help you look, if you like, think you need anyone’s help besides your own.”

Souta rests his head against the wall. “I… will find it. I swear it upon my name…”

Okay.

Mariana takes a deep breath and goes over what she knows. There’s still no clear culprit in her mind--

“Ready to go, partner?” Meijin asks.

\--and it’s going to stay that way for now. She won’t know the truth until it comes out in the class trial. She won’t prove anyone’s guilt until she’s sure beyond a shadow of a doubt. She’d rather die than send an innocent person to their death.

She grips Meijin’s hand tight. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

\---

The waiting room in question is tucked into a corner at the end of a long hallway. It doesn’t connect to anything particular.

Whenever Mariana would visit the doctor, she would be seated in a similar room-- uncomfortable plastic chairs, outdated magazines, sterile-yet-grimy wallpaper. Yet there would always be a window connecting to an office through which the nurse would talk to her about her appointment, or at least another door to show she was waiting for something. Without it, the room gives an uncomfortable aura, like they’re awaiting a grim fate that they can’t even comprehend. It feels like how her Mamae described purgatory.

There’s also a statue of Monokuma in the middle lying flirtatiously on his side. That might add to the anxiety.

The students arrive one by one. Morihimo is the last to arrive. He gives Mariana an innocent smile that turns to horror as she strides across the room.

“You know we need to talk.” Her voice is subdued but intense. “I don’t even have time to ask where you’ve been.”

“Investigating, of course!” Morihimo says, far too loudly. Probably trying to draw attention to the aggressive foreigner accosting the innocent clown. “What else would I be doing?”

She doesn’t even know where to start. “Why. Just… why? I don’t understand you at all.”

“I guess, then, we have something in common.”

Monokuma’s shrill voice interrupts them. “Everyone’s gathered!” he says, striding into the room. “Great! I’m so excited… it’s been so long since we had a good Class Trial!”

He’s met with just silence. He looks about. “Whew. Tough crowd. Saving your voices for the Trial? Good idea!” he says.

Monokuma proceeds to walk up to the statue of himself. He produces a key, which he shoves into the statue’s belly button. When turned, the statue’s eyes both glow red. The ground quakes as the statue rises higher and higher into the room. From below it rises up an elevator.

With a ding, the sleek red doors slide open. It’s roomy enough for all the students to fit inside.

“Everyone in! I’ll see you again in just a minute!” Monokuma giggles. He turns a corner and vanishes.

Silently, the students gather in the elevator. Although no words are spoken, the tension hangs thick between them. Nobody wants to make eye contact or even get close to one another, as if anyone could lash out and kill at any time.

Over the past few days, Mariana’s come to consider many of them friends. It’s sickening to think that one of them has committed murder. It’s even more sickening to think that she failed to stop it.

There had to be signs. There had to be something more she could do. But she didn’t, and now Akira’s paid with his life. She’s calm on the outside, but internally, she’s screaming.

Damn it. Damn it!

I’m sorry, Akira, she thinks. I’m sorry I didn’t get to know you. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you before it was too late.

The elevator doors slide shut and the vehicle begins to descend down into the Earth. The hum seems to last forever; Mariana can’t begin to imagine how far down they’re going.

During times like this, Mariana wishes that she could be more like her mother. Her mother, a devout Catholic, would tell her that Akira’s been taken up by the angels to heaven. Mariana wishes she could believe in such a fate. She can’t get the image out of her mind of Akira’s wide open eyes-- so aware, so full of fear and remorse, but completely without life.

One of them. One of them took a life. One of them killed to escape here. They’ll get their wish, one way or another.

Because Monokuma made the rules clear. Either the Blackened will win and escape the school, or they’ll be executed for disturbing the school life.

Which will it be? Will one of them go free? If the Blackened wins, will Monokuma finally put the others out of their misery? There’s something so tantalizing about just giving up. Now that the adrenaline high is wearing off, exhaustion wears at her.

But she can’t. She can’t give up for Akira’s sake, and she can’t give up for her own, either. Not for her current self, who failed to keep a classmate alive, but for the little girl in the witness stand at her father’s trial. The little girl wanted nothing more than to believe in justice, to save an innocent life, but couldn’t. She owes it to her. She won’t fail again.

The elevator stops. The doors open. The interior is bathed in light.


	7. Chapter 1 / Trial, Part I

**DAY:** 5

**TIME:** AFTERNOON

LOADING…

WELCOME, __MARIANA LIMA___

THE ___ULTIMATE MODEL____

For your convenience, information you discovered during the Investigation phase has been recorded in your personal Monopad. Please take this time before the Class Trial begins to review relevant information.

LOADING…

FILES LOADED.

  * **Monokuma File 1:** Akira died approximately 1:34 AM from crushing. The car engine fell on him and crushed his lower body. He died a few moments later. He had a head wound as well.
  * **Dying Message:** The word ‘SORRY’ was written in blood on the floor in front of Akira. His right index finger was dipped in blood from his head wound.
  * **Computer Terminal:** The computer from which students order items was damaged and bloody. The computer was still functional.
  * **Broken Monopad:** A Monopad was found on top of Akira’s body. It was pinned underneath the car engine. It would not turn on.
  * **Log of Items:** Kokoro said “many miscellaneous items” were ordered throughout the students’ time so far at the school. Nothing was ordered except for the car engine on the night of the murder.
  * **No ATS:** According to Yusuke, the school runs entirely on power from the generator and not from the grid.
  * **Unscrewed Control Panel:** The glass case covering the generator’s control panel had been unscrewed.
  * **Turning off the Generator:** According to Yusuke, the generator may have been turned off improperly. An alarm may have sounded.
  * **Dog-Eared Manual Page:** The generator’s manual, which was chained to the wall, had one page dog-eared. It was about how fuel is stored underneath the school.
  * **Plastic Key:** A key replica was found, broken, in the locked room. Later, Meijin found that Akira made it using supplies from the woodshop room.
  * **Monoprofen:** An experimental medicine made by an Ultimate Pharmacist in the past. It works as a pain-relief, but when exposed to gasoline, it causes an explosion. It was found in the woodshop room.
  * **Akira’s Motive Video:** A strange motive video claimed that Monokuma cares about Akira more than anyone else.
  * **Suicide Letter:** Akira wrote something similar to a suicide letter. It was in an open envelope on his desk. He claimed to be the Mastermind.
  * **Copied Pages:** Akira copied pages from the generator’s manual and the log of experimental drugs, especially regarding Monoprofen.
  * **Pencil Markings on Wall:** Akira drew on all the walls with pencil in a particular way. Hinako thought perhaps it’s tracing the wiring of electricity through the building.
  * **Yuko’s Testimony:** Yuko and Ahoki had a fight last night. They stopped fighting and Ahoki threw away her crowbar. Yuko walked to her dorm later through the blackout and heard a ghost.



\---

When the students’ eyes adjust to the light, they’re in a courtroom of sorts. Fifteen wooden podiums are arranged in a circle in front of a throne, upon which Monokuma sits. The decorations are scarce. The oak wood walls and red curtains give the impression of a regular courtroom.

A framed monochrome photo is displayed in one of the podiums. It displays Akira Komura’s profile photo with a red ‘X’ painted over it. The ends of the X seem to curl slightly inward.

“Everyone, take your place!” Monokuma says, from upon his throne.

Mariana’s jaw clenches looking at the portrait. She selects a podium next to Meijin. There’s little squabbling over positions, even if it means standing next to the effigy of Akira; everyone takes their place as if guided by muscle memory.

“Ahem… I don’t believe I need to restate the Class Trial rules,” Monokuma announces. “The key is this: if you can figure out 'whodunnit', then only they- the Blackened- will receive punishment," Monokuma taunts. "But if you pick the wrong one... Then I'll punish everyone besides the Blackened, and the one who deceived everyone will Graduate!"

“How are we even supposed to start?” Kuro blurts out. “I ain’t been in a courtroom before…”

“Oh, I think you’ll figure it out,” Monokuma giggles. “Maybe one little tip… why not start by discussing the cause of death?”

“Allow me,” Yusuke volunteers. “I’m sure we’re all familiar with the Monokuma File, but allow me to restate certain key facts. Akira was unfortunately crushed to death by the car engine. It pinned him to the ground. His ribs punctured his lungs and he died shortly after being crushed.”

Hinako raises her hand. “In addition, Sir Akira had a head injury, did he not?”

“Yeah. Souta should be able to confirm all this,” Meijin says. “He did an autopsy. Right, Souta?”

Souta’s hand continually itches his throat. The large purple bruise seems to be worsening due to all the attention. “Y-yes.,, my autopsy served to confirm the information found in the Monokuma File…”

“Hey… what’s with that bruise?” Ahoki asks. “Someone fuck you up? I’ll kill ‘em!”

“Interesting choice of words. Please, do elaborate,” Morihimo giggles.

The students begin to squabble. Souta seems like he’s miles away. Someone needs to get this back on track.

Mariana clears her throat. “Um, yeah, Souta! I didn’t ask about that bruise. Are you okay?”

“It’s unrelated to the case, I assure you,” Souta answers, sharply. “Let us focus on the matter at hand… heh.”

“Then we all agree on the cause of death,” Yusuke says. “The Blackened gave Akira the head injury. They laid him down on the delivery pad and caused the engine to fall on him.”

“But… how?” Reiko asks. “I don’t get that part.”

The energy in the room changes at once. Several students seem eager to discuss their findings and theories. Mariana takes a breath and tries to keep the facts straight in her mind.

“The delivery crane only lowers items onto the delivery pad. It does not drop them, as the Monokuma File implies,” Yusuke says.

“Additionally, it wouldn’t lower at all if there was something already on there,” Hinako says.

“We suspected a system malfunction may have caused the engine to fall,” Kokoro says.

Nunosuke strokes his chin. “But what kind of malfunction would cause that?”

“Oh! Maybe the blackout?” Chuya says. “Yusuke looked at the generator that powers the school and found out there was a short blackout in the middle of the night!”

“A blackout,” Reiko affirms. “That cannot be controlled, so it must have been an accident.”

Mariana shakes her head. “No, it wasn’t an accident. Yusuke and Chuya found that the control panel for the generator had a glass case over it. But it had been unscrewed, right?”

“Yeah! That’s exactly it!” Chuya says. “Someone unscrewed the glass case so they could have messed with the generator and caused a blackout!”

“There is no backup generator, and we do not get power from the normal power grid,” Yusuke says. “Therefore, any problem with the main generator would cause a complete power failure for the school.”

“Sounds like a design flaw,” Touma snorts.

Monokuma sighs. “Everyone’s a critic.”

“Eh, so, wait. A blackout caused the whole engine to just fall from the crane?” Kuro asks. “Why didn’t the crane just stay holding it?”

“Ehe… I can answer that,” Kokoro says. “I read more information from the computer terminal. Apparently… there’s a design oversight, of sorts. The crane delivers mostly small items, like personal grooming items for students. It is not meant to carry items weighing 150 kilograms or more for a prolonged period of time.”

“The engine must be heavier than that,” Meijin says.

“Yes. It would have been fine if it were to deliver the car engine normally. However, picture this. Akira is lying down upon the delivery pad. The engine is ordered. The crane carries the engine over, but cannot lower because of Akira’s presence.” Kokoro taps her pencil on her notebook. “Normally, the system would return the engine. However, if the blackout were to cut out power--”

“Oh!” Chuya interjects. “The crane would stay holding the engine above Akira’s body, right?”

“And then because the crane was unable to support that weight for so long…” Reiko’s eyes widen. “Oh, goodness.”

Laughter erupts in the courtroom. All eyes turn toward its source: Morihimo.

“Guys, I just love the creativity! Really, I do!” Morihimo says. He leans on the podium, then proceeds to lift up his legs and turn it into a handstand. “Too bad this isn’t a fiction writing workshop!”

“Pray tell, do you have anything of substance to contribute?” Yusuke asks, crossing his arms.

Morihimo flips and winds up sitting cross-legged on the podium, resting his face in his gloved hands. “Well, since you asked…” He proceeds to count on his fingers. “Why would Akira just lay there on the delivery pad for an undisclosed amount of time until the engine fell on him? Why not just get up?”

He counts off another finger. “When was the glass case unscrewed, and who did it? We’re assuming the Blackened ordered the engine and then had to shut off the power at the precise time, otherwise the engine would be put back.”

And he counts off a third finger. “And how did someone unscrew the glass case, hm? Gosh, let’s not forget that detail! Did they use their fingernails? Their teeth?” He directs his stare to Mariana. Sardonic humor just oozes from his face. “Or did someone have access to supplies?”

With that, Morihimo does a backflip off of the podium and lands on his feet. He bows. Hinako proceeds to applaud.

Besides the sound of two wooden hands clapping, silence fills the courtroom.

“... It’s true, ain’t it,” Kuro says. “There’s lots we don’t know.”

“Should we start from square one?” Reiko asks.

“We need to answer one question at a time.” Meijin leans in. “If we let him just inundate us with questions, we’ll never get to the answer.”

“Right.” Touma crosses his arms. “Then let’s man up and face it. First question: why didn’t Akira try and save himself?”

As the students begin their arguments, Mariana stares across the courtroom at Morihimo. He flutters his eyelashes innocently. What’s he plotting? His questions hadn’t actually contradicted what they found so far-- in fact, if answered properly, they would only help lead to the truth.

Was he… trying to help? Or did he mean to accuse her?

“Sir Akira did not try to save himself,” Hinako begins. “There were not signs of a struggle.”

“Well… the computer was bashed with something. It was bloodied and the screen was cracked,” Meijin says.

“Akira’s head injury likely was caused by the Blackened slamming it into the computer,” Nunosuke says.

“Maybe the Blackened is injured, but they’re hiding it,” Yuko mutters.

Yusuke raises a brow. “Hm… that would explain a certain someone’s neck injury, would it not?”

“As I said, it’s uninvolved in the case,” Souta snaps.

“What if there was a reason Akira couldn’t save himself?” Kokoro bites her pencil. “Perhaps his wound wasn’t incidental…”

Mariana slams her hands on the podium, caught up in the heat of the moment. “That has to be it! I thought at first that, like, the head wound was just part of a fight. But what if the Blackened did it to knock Akira unconscious?”

“Unconscious…” Meijin frowns. “Is there any way we can prove that?”

“I can,” Souta says. He squirms as all attention focuses on him. “My autopsy showed signs of a concussion.”

“Do we know for how long he was unconscious?” Kokoro asks.

Souta shakes his head. “I didn’t examine the severity… it can range from several seconds to days, depending on the damage to the brain caused by the concussion.”

Mariana speaks up again. “So what if he was knocked out, and then the Blackened put him on the delivery pad? He would have laid there until the engine fell.”

“Sir Akira was awoken by the engine crushing his lower back… quite a rude awakening,” Hinako says, shaking her head faintly. “He then proceeded to write his final message using his own blood.”

“Objection!” Kuro points at Hinako. “Heh, I always wanted to do that…”

“Did I say something incorrect?” Hinako bows. “A thing such as myself should not speak out of turn. I am sorry. Please pull the cord on my back when I am allowed to use my voice again.”

“Hinako, no!” Chuya whines.

“Well, um…” Kuro stammers. “How do we know that Akira wrote that message? It feels weird that he would write ‘sorry’ rather’n the name of who killed him.”

Several voices speak at once as the objection blossoms into a full-on debate.

“If Akira did write his own dying message…” Yusuke strokes his chin. “Perhaps he wasn’t sure who killed him.”

“Since he was K.O’d after the injury!” Chuya affirms. “If he was knocked out until the engine fell on him, and his killer dropped it by turning off the power, then he wouldn’t have seen them!”

“Guess that’s it, then,” Touma says. “Really makes no sense for the killer to write that.”

“Guys--” Yuko begins.

“Unless there was another message…?” Reiko adds. “Perhaps the Blackened erased it and wrote another one instead.”

“No matter how you look at it, that’s gotta be it,” Ahoki says. “Ain’t no way Akira wrote it himself, and it ain’t like we can tell.”

Mariana interjects. “Yuko, I think you can answer this question for us, right?”

“Yeah! I can!” Yuko straightens her back, filled with confidence. “I actually did a handwriting analysis.”

“You can do that?” Meijin asks.

“Yes! I’ve seen millions of letters! I studied graphology in my spare time ‘cause I wanted to learn about if we can find soulmates by matching their handwriting!” Yuko says. “Anyway, it didn’t work, but…”

“To the point, please,” Kokoro says.

“Right. Eheh…” Yuko wrings her hands. Mariana empathizes; Yuko has been in her persona for so long, it’s hard to be serious, or expect to be taken seriously. “I matched the handwriting to the notes that Akira wrote. I can confirm that he wrote the dying message himself.”

Morihimo cocks his head. “Is that so? Did he write all of his other notes in blood using his index finger, too?”

Yuko puffs out her cheeks. “Well, um… I mean…”

“Yuko, stand up for yourself.” Touma gives an encouraging smile.

“... Yeah! I mean, no!” Yuko says. “Even if it’s unconventional, I can still match the note to Akira’s handwriting with some certainty. Everyone has a certain distinct way that they draw characters and letters. It’s like fingerprints.”

Mariana cheers internally. You go, girl!

“It’s good information, certainly.” Yusuke frowns. “However, it only raises more questions. Are we to assume Akira didn’t know who killed him? Or was there another reason why he would write ‘sorry’?”

There’s a knot in Mariana’s chest, being tugged tighter and tighter. She can barely breathe. But she needs to push forward, even if it means presenting that evidence.

“Um… Hinako and Meijin were there with me in his dorm, when we found some… strange stuff.” Mariana looks away. “Like, um…”

“Oh, yes,” Hinako says, with her usual chipper tone. “Sir Akira’s suicide letter.”

The courtroom erupts.

“Suicide?!”

“What?!”

Yusuke looks like he’s about to jump over the podium. “Why was this not presented earlier?”

“Oh, no… I should not have used my voice again…” Hinako covers her face.

“No, we need to talk about this,” Meijin says. “To find the truth.”

“Um…” Mariana brings out her Monopad. “When this thing, like, updated with information we found… it gave me a copy of the text in the letter.”

“Please,” Morihimo says, looking all the world like it’s a game to him, “do share with the class.”

The students hold their collective breath as Mariana reads.

_“This isn’t a suicide letter. I am going to kill myself, and I will be long dead before anyone else sets eyes upon this. But I don’t owe anyone apologies or explanation._

_I am aware that my chosen means of death may cause this letter to become unreadable. If nothing else, writing this allows me to confess this sin._

_I am the Mastermind. I am the reason we are in this killing game._

_I first planned to take everyone down with me. I no longer am sure if I can go through with this plan. Enough blood is on my hands. The last life that I take will be my own. May I meet the fate I deserve in Hell._

_For what it is worth… to the one who I know created that video. May I meet you there.”_

Nobody speaks. Then: “So… he was… the Mastermind?” Kuro stammers. “The one who set up this whole game?”

“He thought so, at least,” Mariana says. “And, um… he had a motive video like us, where Monokuma said he was the one who loved Akira the most. But it was… odd.”

When the students look at Monokuma, he’s just sitting there in a pose with his paws covering his mouth, as if suppressing a giggle. No comments to be added.

“Have we been looking at this from the wrong angle?” Kokoro asks. Her pencil flies over her paper as she erases and rewrites her notes. “Was this a suicide?”

Mariana closes her eyes. It would seem like that’s the case, but there are things that don’t add up.

“If Akira killed himself…” Nunosuke begins. “Does that mean there is no Blackened?”

“And that means we can get outta this shithole,” Ahoki adds.

“So that’s why he wrote ‘sorry’. He felt bad,” Touma says. “Apology not accepted on this one.”

“Yeah, really!” Kuro says.

“He probably hit his own head or whatever,” Yuko says. “Just to confuse us.”

“He must have felt great remorse in his final moments.” Reiko bows her head. “Even though he claimed to not owe any apologies to anyone… that opinion must have changed as he saw his life coming to an end.”

“I do feel bad for Sir Akira,” Hinako says.

Mariana gestures to Yuko. “Hey, Yuko, could you repeat that?”

“Huh?” Yuko says. “I mean, Akira probably gave himself the head injury… if it’s a suicide, nobody else pushed him onto the computer thingy.”

“But, like, that doesn’t hold up.” Mariana puts a hand on her hip. “Souta confirmed he was knocked out after that injury, and we don’t know how long he was out for.”

“Ah… that is true,” Souta says.

“Maybe, um… maybe he only was out for a few seconds after all, then he got back up?” Kuro says.

“What if these are two unrelated incidents?” Meijin says. “Maybe someone didn’t intend to kill him, just injure him. When they knocked him out, they left. Then, when Akira got up, he decided to kill himself.”

“If… if Akira was suicidal, why would he choose to go out in this horrific manner?” Reiko stammers. “Why would he not choose another… option?”

“Don’t you get it?” Morihimo interjects. “So he can end his game.”

“Is that a euphemism for suicide? We already know that,” Yusuke scoffs.

“No, you flaccid, blue-haired ding dong. Same color as Sonic and you jump to conclusions just as fast.”

“Pardon me?!”

Morihimo giggles. “Anyway! Let’s consider something, shall we? Let’s say that Akira is acting alone. He goes to great lengths- even concussing himself- to make it look like a murder. Do you know why he would do that?”

“Uh… to confuse us?” Meijin says.

“Yes! Great job, freckle boy! Gold star!” Morihimo shouts. “Because Monokuma told us already. If we screw the pooch on this one and vote wrong, we all get ‘punished’ and the Blackened wins. If Akira’s already dead because he killed himself, he wouldn’t gain anything from winning… unless having us face Monokuma’s wrath was his goal all along!”

“No.” Kokoro puts down her notebook. “The trial rules were only added after Akira was killed, so he couldn’t have known.”

Morihimo wags a finger. “Ah-ah-ah! Not so fast!” he sings. “If he were the Mastermind, then he certainly would have to know the rules of his own game.”

“But…” Yuko clenches her fists. “If the Mastermind is dead, why are we still here?”

The students turn to Monokuma, who laughs. “I’m your Headmaster! Nothing’s going to stop me.” He waves a paw. “Mastermind, shmastermind. Whoever started this whole thing isn’t relevant. I keep the show running.”

“S-so it will go on even if the Mastermind dies,” Kuro confirms.

“Which he has.” Morihimo’s grin only spreads further.

“Then, may I ask, why was he so concerned about one of us being a traitor?” Nunosuke asks.

“To cause drama, duuhhhh! Which he did with aplomb!” Morihimo does a chef’s kiss to his fingers. “And weren’t we suspicious? Weren’t we afraid? Just brilliantly conducted.”

As they speak, Mariana watches Morihimo’s movements. She wouldn’t call herself an expert on reading people. She’s nothing smart, like an Ultimate Psychologist.

But she is an expert at modeling. She knows exaggerated poses. She knows fake smiles. And right now, Morihimo is nothing but overblown poses and fake smiles-- like a child telling his first lie. The only reason it’s not being questioned is because of the trial’s manic pace.

“If Akira wanted us to think it’s a murder,” she begins, “why would he write a suicide letter?”

“Ah, but he said it’s not a suicide letter! So it doesn’t count,” Morihimo says.

“He still clearly stated his intent to end his own life, apologies or not,” Reiko says.

“There’s something else that’s been bothering me… he said his chosen means of death might make the letter unreadable,” Meijin says. “What did he mean by that?”

“Maybe, um, he wanted to have the letter in his pocket or somethin’?” Kuro says. “So if he bled a lot, it would ruin the letter?”

“But why?” Touma asks.

Kuro throws up her hands. “I dunno!”

“It only doesn’t make sense if we believe Akira didn’t want to die this way,” Mariana pushes forward. “There’s something else. The envelope that this letter was in wasn’t sealed when we found it. Someone had ripped it open already.”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Souta begins, his eyes widening. “Could you repeat that?”

“Um, yeah. Someone had probably opened Akira’s letter before we found it.”

“Reading someone else’s mail is a federal offense!” Yuko yells.

“But we don’t know who it was addressed to… besides whoever made the motive videos.” Meijin puts his hand to his chin. “If he were the Mastermind, wouldn’t he have made them? Either there’s a second Mastermind, or he wasn’t at all.”

“Then does that mean he didn’t write ‘sorry’? I’m confused,” Touma says.

Mariana shakes her head. “What matters is that he _thinks_ he was. That type of guilt might give him the intent to commit suicide. Someone else could have taken advantage of this to kill him and make us think he killed himself.”

“Still… what a peculiar method,” Reiko murmurs.

“I think there’s something we’re overlooking,” Kokoro says. “When could someone have read the suicide letter? It was locked in his dorm.”

“And his Monopad was broken, so nobody could have gotten in,” Meijin adds.

Nunosuke speaks up. “Pardon me if this is foolish, but perhaps Akira tore open the letter himself?”

“Perhaps he wanted to confuse us,” Yusuke says. “If it were indeed a suicide, that is.”

“Nobody got into his dorm, so it had to be him,” Touma says. “Either way, someone didn’t need to read that to want to kill Akira. Someone might have done it ‘cause of their motive tablet.”

“That’s true…” Yuko struggles to maintain her composure.

“May I speak?” Hinako says.

“No!” Morihimo yells.

“Okay.”

Ahoki grinds her teeth. “Oi! Let her speak, fucker!”

“Well, if you insist,” Hinako says. “Perhaps we could turn our attention to other discoveries in Sir Akira’s room?”

Mariana feels her stomach sink. “You mean…”

“Yes. Several papers were discovered. Sir Akira copied down pages of the generator’s manual. He also copied one page from the infirmary regarding an experimental drug known as Monoprofen.”

“OH! I know that one!” Kuro says. “It’s the one that explodes!”

“E-explodes?!” Chuya gasps.

“Yes,” Reiko sighs. “It was an experimental medicine that was intended for pain relief. It had an unforeseen side effect: when exposed to gasoline, it could cause an explosion.”

“Strange. What else was found?” Yusuke asks.

“Sir Akira drew pencil markings all over the walls. It is my personal hypothesis that he was trying to trace wiring throughout the building,” Hinako says. “Finally, Sir Meijin found a key mould in the bathroom.”

“Yeah. There was a bar of soap that he pressed a key into. He then used a lighter to melt a plastic comb into the mould so he could make a plastic key,” Meijin says.

“What key?” Kuro asks.

Mariana decides to speak. Better that she’s the one who reveals it rather than it being unveiled for her. “I need to reveal something. A few days ago, Morihimo gave me the key to one of the locked rooms on the floor. When I said I could dispose of your motive tablets, I hid them in there.

“The locked room that the key opened was, like, a woodshop room. There were tools and supplies there. When I first entered, a screwdriver and some other tools were missing, so I knew someone had already been in there,” she concludes.

“Thank you for finally sharing this crucial information.” Yusuke, although shorter than her, can still manage to look as if he’s looking down on her. “For someone who preaches on about trust, you certainly do keep secrets.”

“I thought I was keeping everyone safe by keeping it hidden. There were some dangerous things in there.” Mariana reaches into her bra and pulls out the key. “I’ve had it this whole time.”

“Okay, but like, where did Morihimo get the key?” Yuko asks.

“A good magician never reveals his secrets!” Morihimo says.

“A good magician better speak the fuck up before I knock out his goddamn teeth,” Ahoki growls.

“Well, when you ask so nicely, how can I say no?” he hums. “I had to give Akira a BJ for it.”

Chuya frowns. “What’s BJ?”

Kuro opens her mouth to speak. Reiko whacks her with a paper fan.

“So Morihimo likely took it from Akira at some point,” Yusuke says, quickly. “This answers his earlier question: who could have unscrewed the glass case over the generator’s control panel?”

Chuya counts on her fingers. “Either Akira, Morihimo, or Mariana.”

Shit.

“We don’t know if Mariana’s being truthful that the tools were ‘already missing’,” Yusuke says.

“Hold on,” Yuko says. “I was out of my dorm last night and I’m pretty sure that Mariana never left her dorm.”

Mariana nods. “Um, yeah, I was sleeping.”

“Shaky alibi at best,” Morihimo says, with a wicked grin.

“You realize that you’re implicated as well, don’t you?” Yusuke says.

“It couldn’t have been little old me!” Morihimo gasps. “Why, I don’t know what this thing is you call a ‘screw driver’! Where do the screws drive to?”

“But the biggest possibility is that Akira did it,” Touma says. “Think on this. He read up on the manual, so he had something to do with the generator, yeah? Who else would want to get to the generator’s control panel? That goes double for who would want to do that just to maybe drop an engine on him. Only Akira would’ve come up with something like that.”

“He was creepy and mean to girls,” Chuya says, biting a nail.

“If someone wanted to kill Akira, there were far more straightforward methods,” Reiko says. “Suicide continues to look like a probably option, especially considering he wrote a suicide letter.”

“It can’t be suicide! There’s too much that doesn’t make sense!” Meijin says.

“I… I must agree.” Nunosuke clenches a fist. “I cannot believe that this was an elaborate suicide.”

The arguing back-and-forth continues until it reaches a fever pitch. Mariana can’t refute any of their points as the shouting continues; she doesn’t even know where to start.

Then, laughter interrupts the argument.

“Listen to you guys!” Monokuma says. “You’re waaaaay too disorganized to argue like this! I’d say we should arrange things a little better, since you’re split down the middle.”

He produces a key and turns it into a lock in front of him. Several students gasp or cry out as the podiums begin to move. The students, along with their stands, are moved so they’re standing shoulder-to-shoulder in two groups.

On the left: Morihimo, Yusuke, Touma, Chuya, Reiko, and Hinako.

On the right: Mariana, Meijin, Souta, Kuro, Ahoki, Nunosuke, and Yuko.

“Now that we’re more clear where we stand, let us begin this split-opinion debate!” Monokuma says. “The topic is: Did Akira Komura commit suicide?”

He gestures to the left. “Morihimo’s group believes Akira did commit suicide!”

He gestures to the right. “Mariana’s group believes Akira did not commit suicide!”

With that, he waves a flag. “BEGIN!”

Touma jumps in first. “So, Akira was the Mastermind and decided to kill himself out of guilt.”

“We don’t know if he was really the Mastermind,” Kuro counters.

Hinako says: “Sir Akira must have used the screwdriver to unscrew the glass case over the generator’s controls.”

“But it still could’ve been someone else!” Ahoki says.

“After that, Akira gave himself an injury to confuse us,” Reiko says.

Nunosuke shakes his head. “He could not have gone as far as to concuss himself when there were easier options available.”

Chuya leans in. “He ordered the engine, and turned off the power, and let the engine fall on him!”

“He couldn’t have done that all by himself, especially during a blackout,” Yuko argues.

“Since he destroyed his own Monopad, nobody could get into his dorm. Thus, his chosen means of death made his letter unreadable,” Yusuke concludes.

“No, someone did get in somehow and read it. Other things were missing, too!” Meijin says.

“He did this all to cause us to vote incorrectly,” Morihimo says. “Can we end this now?”

“He wasn’t the Mastermind, so he didn’t know about the class trial!” Mariana says. “We need to examine other possibilities!”

As Morihimo’s side falters, Mariana pushes the advantage to shatter their argument. “What _i_ s right is that if we vote wrong, we get punished. We need to try and look at other possibilities, like that someone killed him.”

“Then…” Chuya bites her nail. “It… wasn’t suicide?”

“We might have been mistaken,” Reiko admits.

“I apologize for opening my foolish doll mouth,” Hinako says. “What happens to a thing such as me is of no concern, but I would not want punishment to befall you. Let us examine other possibilities.”

Gradually, the podiums return to normal.

Morihimo is first to speak when the courtroom settles into place. “Mariana, you sure are eager to bring this up, especially since you’re a likely candidate for the Blackened!”

“You’re not off the hook, either,” Mariana says, crossing her arms.

“Technically, only three people could’ve easily gotten a screwdriver to unscrew the glass case. Anyone could’ve killed him after that,” Touma says, shrugging.

“Then… we’re not any closer to finding anything!” Kuro tugs at her wolf ear headband.

Yusuke turns. “Yuko, we need alibis. Pardon my suspicion, but what were you doing out of your dorm?”

Mariana bites her lip. She’ll defend Yuko if she has to. Somehow, she feels like she can’t be the killer. Not after their conversation in the cafeteria.

“I was, um…” Yuko says.

“Killing Akira?” Morihimo hums.

“No!”

Ahoki is staring down at the ground, jaw clenched.

“We did find seltzer cans in the trash can, along with…” Meijin stops himself, realizing his mistake.

“The crowbar! That’s what you were talking about, right?!” Kuro gasps.

“I can only think of one person who carried around a crowbar,” Chuya says.

“Ahoki, care to explain yourself?” Yusuke says.

Ahoki grinds her teeth.

“I can.” Yuko takes a deep breath, then exhales. “I can give my alibi. I went to the kitchen, several hours after the Night Time announcement. The motive video had gotten to me. I got a knife and I was planning to stab someone.”

“Wh-what?!” Chuya shouts.

“Ahoki came in, and she had her crowbar. She was just drinking lots of seltzer, but I convinced myself it was ‘self defense’,” Yuko says. “I jumped her but she countered. We fought for a little while and drew blood from each other. But then I just… I couldn’t do it. So I dropped my knife and waited for her to finish me off.”

“S’ true,” Ahoki pitches in, her voice wet with tears. “I dropped my crowbar when I saw her just stop like that. I thought, ‘what the hell am I doing?’. We were just killin’ each other like Monokuma wanted. We just… cried together, after that.

“See, I… wanna be a better person. I realized that even though I got that crowbar to defend myself, but I was just scarin’ people and makin’ it worse. I didn’t wanna have to actually use it. So I threw it away and went back to my dorm, and I just… thought. I thought about myself and everything that’s happened.”

Yuko nods. “Yeah. I stayed in the kitchen for longer and washed myself up with soap and water from the sink. I cleaned the knife and put it away, too. Then, um… I, um…”

“It’s okay. You’re doing great,” Mariana says.

Yuko gulps. “The lights turned off. Sometimes they turn off to save power, and if you move around, they come back on. But they wouldn’t. Then I heard a ghost.”

Reiko narrows her eyes. “A ghost?”

“Yeah. This ear-splitting wailing. It went on for a while, then my ears were ringing. I got scared and ran back to my dorm even though there was stuff knocked down in the kitchen from the fight. When I got to the dorm halls, I was feeling my way around, and the screeching stopped… but then I heard someone sobbing.”

A hush falls over the room.

“Uh-huh.” Morihimo rolls his eyes. “Are we supposed to believe this bullshit?”

“What the fuck was that?” Ahoki growls.

“A ghost? Really?” Morihimo scoffs. “Here’s a more likely alternative: the odd couple here decided rather than kill each other, they could take out Akira. I bet that Ahoki did the dirty work of whacking him and Yuko turned off the generator.”

“We aren’t an odd couple! I already have a girlfriend!” Yuko shouts.

“That’s your protest?” Touma asks.

“Oh, so they were working together…” Chuya says.

“Could there be more than one Blackened?” Meijin asks.

“No!” Monokuma says. “There can only be one Blackened! Acting as an accomplice is pointless because only the student who kills another and gets away with it can Graduate!”

“But they did not know that at the time,” Nunosuke muses.

“It wasn’t them.” Mariana’s pissed. She doesn’t even care about keeping up her mask. “You keep pointing fingers, Morihimo. Like, I haven’t seen this much fingering since the last model sleepover I went to after a photoshoot.”

“Can we talk about that instead?” Touma asks. Reiko readies her paper fan as a warning.

“You were avoiding me this whole investigation. I didn’t want to have to accuse you, but none of what you’ve been doing makes any sense,” Mariana says. “Did you give me the key after you were done with the woodshop room just so you could accuse me? And let’s not forget that you told me about there being an extra student, and then told Akira I was withholding information, which made him attack Kuro. Plus, someone had to have released Akira later on from his restraints, and you had the perfect opportunity.”

Throughout the whole accusation, Morihimo is silent. He maintains a perfect poker face.

“So what is it? I’m going to make you answer these questions right now,” Mariana says. “I want to believe you’re innocent. I don’t think a little twink like you has it in him to kill him, so start talking.”

“Are you trying to accuse me or not? I’m getting mixed signals,” Morihimo says. “Women are crazy!”

“Why, you sonuva bitch--” Ahoki growls.

“Go ahead! Attack me, miss ‘trying to be a better person’!” he giggles.

His words douse the flame in her eyes. Ahoki looks away, biting her tongue.

“You all are half-baked.” Morihimo sighs. “Booooring! Not one of you can commit. Do you think I’m the Blackened or not?”

“Let us narrow down our suspects,” Yusuke says. “I believe in Yuko and Ahoki’s testimony. Here’s why: I think I know what the ghost was.”

“You do?” Reiko gasps.

“Yes. The generator had been turned off improperly. An alarm might have sounded,” Yusuke says. “My generator at home had this feature.”

“Oh!” Yuko gasps. “I thought it was a really loud screeching, but maybe it was an alarm?”

“Yes. That is my theory. The sobbing might have been the victim or the Blackened themselves.” Yusuke frowns.

“How do we know it wasn’t a spirit?” Reiko counters.

Chuya slams her fist into the palm of her hand. “Monokuma, could you tell us what the generator alarm sounds like?”

“Hm… what an odd request.” Monokuma scratches his chin. “It’s a fun one, so I’ll fulfill it, just this once! Here we go!”

Monokuma points to the ceiling. Out of nowhere, a screeching pierces the room. Several students cover their ears.

Once it subsides, Yuko unplugs her ears. “That was it! I thought that was like, a banshee screeching!”

“Wonderful.” Yusuke uncovers his ears. “I believe that’s evidence to support Yuko’s testimony being true. If that’s the case, neither she nor Ahoki is the Blackened. Since Yuko stated before that she thinks Mariana didn’t leave her dorm, it’s likely that she isn’t the Blackened either.”

His eyes narrow. “Since we’re barring the possibility of suicide for now, that leaves one prime suspect: Morihimo.”

All attention falls on the jester, who maintains his poker face.

“He had the key at some point… he could have easily gotten the tools he needed to unscrew the glass case,” Kokoro says.

“He’s scrawnier than Akira, so the little fucker must have surprised him to get an advantage,” Ahoki says. “He jumped him from behind and slammed his head into the computer.”

“Sir Morihimo could have hatched a plan as strange as to drop an engine upon Sir Akira,” Hinako says. “Perhaps he dragged Akira’s body onto the delivery pad.”

“Then dropped the engine on him,” Nunosuke says.

“Do I look like I’d turn the generator off improperly?” Morihimo says, calmly. “My mother didn’t raise a moron.”

“Anyone could make mistakes during the heat of the moment,” Kuro says. “‘Specially during a murder.”

“I don’t think he’d be crying, though, like Yuko heard,” Meijin says.

“It could have been Akira,” Yusuke says.

“So after killing Akira, Morihimo went back to his dorm. We discovered the body in the morning,” Kokoro concludes.

“No, that’s wrong!” Mariana slams her hand down. “Morihimo, even though everyone’s accusing you, why won’t you just answer my questions?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I did do it.” He plays with one of the cotton balls on the end of his jester’s cap. “After all, how do we know we are who we think we are?”

What?

“What do you mean?” Mariana presses.

“Go ahead and vote if we’re so certain,” Morihimo says.

“Hold on.” Kokoro turns toward Mariana. “You sounded like you had a counter to my statement, specifically.”

Mariana forces herself to turn away from Morihimo. “Yeah. There’s something we’ve been overlooking because we thought it was impossible for anyone to get into Akira’s dorm. Well, there’s some things that had been hidden in the locked woodshop room that only appeared after the murder.”

“What?” Souta gasps. “Tell me, now.”

Pushy. “Um… the plastic key that Meijin said Akira made, it was in there. It had been broken. The screwdriver and other missing tools had been replaced. And there were footsteps the Blackened left. They led me to a hidden bottle of Monoprofen.”

“So that’s where it went!” Kuro says.

“If someone entered Akira’s dorm, they may have read his letter, too,” Meijin adds.

“But how did they get into his dorm?” Yuko asks.

“There’s only one way,” Mariana says. “They had to use his Monopad.”

Chuya gasps. “What?!”

“No way!” Kuro says.

“His… his Monopad was broken, right?” Reiko stutters.

Meijin shakes his head. “That’s a bad assumption we made. A Monopad had been broken, but we don’t know if it was his.”

“Is it not against the rules to steal Monopads from other students, though?” Kokoro asks.

“No.” Meijin pulls out his own Monopad. “Rule 9 says students may not steal Monopads that are **‘being used’** by other students.”

“Oh!” Chuya gasps. “So if Akira was already dead, then someone could have taken his Monopad!”

“And used it to access his dorm,” Souta says. “Mariana, was anything else stolen from his dorm?”

“Um, that’s all we found in the locked room.”

“Are you certain?” Souta pleads.

“Pretty much… but, like, I might have missed something?”

“There’s something more pressing at hand. Who’s motive tablet was destroyed?” Yusuke asks.

“It could only belong to one person,” Meijin says. “The Blackened.”

“Then…” Kuro’s jaw drops. “The Monopads all display our names! If we all show we have ours, we’ll reveal that the Blackened has Akira’s!”

The revelation shakes the room. Quickly, each student grabs their Monopad. They reveal them one by one. Mariana Lima. Meijin Gyokushou. They continue around the circle, revealing their names and talents.

All up until they reach Touma.

“Um, Touma?” Kuro says. “It’s your turn.”

“Ah, shucks. What a day to have forgotten mine,” Touma laughs. “Bummer!”

“Liar!” Ahoki growls. “How could you?!”

“A guy forgot! Gimme a break!” He says, laughing again. His laugh becomes desperate. “Ahoki threw hers in the dumpster a few days ago.”

“Yeah, but I got it now,” she says.

Mariana can feel her heart pounding. Even as the squabbling continues, she can hear her own heartbeat; she can feel the pulse in her neck.

“Touma.”

When she speaks, the room falls silent. She forces herself to look at Touma as her eyes fill with tears. “Hey. You’re not wearing your Golden Microphone Pin. The award you won that you love. Why aren’t you wearing it?”

“I forgot it with all the commotion,” Touma says, looking away.

“Really?” Mariana says. “Funny. You’ve forgotten a few things. You really loved that pin. I bet you would have gotten it if you could access your dorm.”

“Hey, it ain’t like that.”

“You told me you couldn’t sleep at all last night. That was true, wasn’t it?” Mariana continues. “Because it’s a rule that you can only sleep in your own dorm. Which you couldn’t get into.”

Touma clenches his jaw. He still can’t meet Mariana’s stare.

“You know, it’s like I told you when you tried to make Meijin seem suspicious,” Mariana says. “I said that you’re the only other one with a good opportunity to free Akira from his restraints. Nunosuke said you told him a joke so funny that he doubled over in laughter, so he wasn’t looking.”

Touma doesn’t say a word.

“And you know what else? You were the only one who could get into the infirmary to talk to Akira, back when he was first shot. You said so yourself,” Mariana says. “You’ve had contact with him. If you just wanted to kill to escape, you could’ve killed anyone. But you’ve been planning this, right under our noses. You had to choose him for some reason.”

Touma clenches and unclenches his fists.

“Answer me, please.” Tears spill free and run down her cheeks. “All you have to do to prove me wrong is show me your Monopad. Please, tell me I’m wrong. We had that talk, we were friends. I thought we were friends, unless it’s all a lie to you.”

Touma, finally, slowly, recovers his Monopad from where it had been tucked away in his sash. He holds it up in front of his face and presses the button. It loads up.

“WELCOME, USER: AKIRA KOMURA  
THE ULTIMATE ???”

The court erupts with noises of shock. But one sound is louder than them all: a sob from behind the Monopad, which Touma uses to hide his face.

Yuko’s face lights up in recognition. “That’s it! That’s the sobbing that I heard that night!”

“So there wasn’t a ghost after all?” Kuro asks, disappointed.

“What happened?” Ahoki says. “So he fuckin’ did it after all?”

“I think… I think I understand,” Mariana says. “Let me make it clear what I was trying to say. I feel like… I need to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt. And if at all I’m wrong, please correct me.

“It started after Akira was shot by Monokuma and taken to the infirmary. Touma told us he knocked until Akira finally opened the door. They must have started out as working together. One of them found the key to the woodshop room, but Akira wound up possessing it. They also probably took Monoprofen around this time.

“Touma rejoined the group. Morihimo then, for whatever reason, decided to upset Akira. He held Kuro and then me hostage until he passed unconscious. Souta took him back to the infirmary and restrained him. We all interrogated him, but Touma was able to distract Nunosuke- who was guarding Akira- long enough to unbuckle Akira’s restraints. From there, Akira waited so it wouldn’t be obvious that Touma freed him. He escaped when Meijin was talking to him.

“Akira locked himself in his dorm. He must have begun to work on his plan in secret. He studied electricity in the school and the generator. He made a duplicate of his key and accessed the woodshop room as needed. At some point, because Morihimo was up in the halls late at night, he must have taken the real key from Akira. He then gave it to me.

“On the night of the murder, Akira unscrewed the glass case covering the generator’s control panels using the screwdriver from the woodshop room. Touma met him in the storage room.

“Touma took the opportunity to knock Akira unconscious by slamming his head into the computer terminal that students use to order items from storage. Touma put Akira’s body on the delivery pad. I assume this is when he put his own Monopad on Akira’s body so it wouldn’t be obvious that Akira’s was missing. He then ordered the car engine. The crane that delivers items from the warehouse proceeded to pick it up and carry it to the delivery pad, but it wouldn’t lower the engine onto the pad because Akira was laying on it. The crane had a short period of time where it was hovering above the delivery pad in case someone moved ‘the product’ that was blocking the way. But the crane couldn’t hold the engine for long.

“Touma then turned off the generator. The crane was stuck holding the engine above Akira’s body. It eventually fell and crushed Akira, sealing his fate. Touma then used Akira’s Monopad, which was no longer in use, to access his dorm and hide evidence. He returned the tools to the woodshop room, hid the Monoprofen there, and broke the plastic key inside.

“Meanwhile, there was a brief blackout in the school. The generator, which had been turned off improperly, caused a shrieking alarm. Yuko, who had a fight with Ahoki in the cafeteria, thought it was a ghost. This sound might have covered up any sounds that Akira could have made. We never made it clear how, but the generator was turned back on at some point.

“This meant that Yuko could briefly hear Touma crying out of guilt. Touma was unable to return to his room and sleep all night. It was clear that he couldn’t return to his dorm, because he forgot his Golden Microphone Pin-- an award that he always wears. He had forgotten it in the rush to meet Akira.

”That’s where the story ends. Touma rejoined us in the morning to discover the body. I can only guess that Akira, guilty in his last moments, left the dying message ‘SORRY’ rather than the name of his killer. Still, we found out the truth. It could only be one person… Touma Watanabe,” she concludes.

“Yeah. She got it all right, pretty much.” Touma lowers the Monopad. He quickly raises his glasses and wipes his face on his sleeve. “Damn it, Touma, be a man.”

“You can let it out,” Meijin says, softly.

“I can’t. I never have been able to fuckin’ just let it out.” Touma drops the Monopad on the ground. “God damn it…”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, here!” Monokuma says. “Looks like we’ve reached a conclusion! Let’s go ahead and make it official!”

The podiums open up to reveal a screen. It displays the faces of every student, including Akira.

“Vote on which student is the Blackened!” Monokuma says. “I don’t think we’ll have much of a split vote on this one! Oh, and voting is mandatory!”

Mariana’s stomach churns. It disgusts her to have to click on the photo of Touma’s smiling face. He had been so full of joy. He had opened up to her.

How could he do this?

In the end, fourteen votes come in for Touma. It’s a unanimous verdict. Monokuma’s way of making it official is to reveal a slot machine. The wheels spin; Mariana can make out little icons of each student. All three stop on Touma’s face.

With that, coins fly out of the slot machine! Confetti falls! It’s like a celebration!

“Congratulations!” Monokuma says. “You guys got it right! The person who killed Akira Komura was, in fact, Touma Watanabe!”

“Touma, please,” Mariana says. “You said I ‘pretty much’ got it right. Did I get something wrong?”

“... Yeah. Well, kind of.” Touma releases the tension in his body. “You’re right that I was trying to save us.”

“Save us?” Yuko asks.

“Yeah. Let me just spell it out from the beginning.” Touma adjusts his glasses, getting ready to tell his last story. “I did really just want to check on Akira in the infirmary. But then when I got in, he surprised me.”

-

_“Touma, correct?” Akira said._

_Touma frowned. “You know my name? But you missed the introductions.”_

_“I know who you are.” From the cot, Akira raised his head and looked Touma in the eye. “Your grandfather is Akihito Watanabe. Your birthday is July 30th. You like anime and laughter and dislike dress pants and tomatoes. You weigh about 131 kilograms.”_

_“Woah there, easy. Google stalker, much?”_

_“I remember things.”_

_“Remember? How do you remember stuff you never learned?”_

_“I remember this game. It’s happened already. That’s why I said we’re not doing this again.” Akira winced as he strained his injury. “But something’s wrong. I don’t know why I remember these things but I don’t even know my talent. I can’t remember anything else about myself, either.”_

_“Let’s say I believe you. Then what?”_

_A rare smile crossed Akira’s face._

_“Listen well. I’ll need an ally if we’re to pull this off. I have a plan to kill the Mastermind and end this game permanently.”_

-

“That’s what he told me. He could tell me other things that he just shouldn’t know, too. Like how my gramps beat me, or how my siblings are jealous they didn’t get picked as the Ultimate… stuff like that,” Touma says.

“Really? It sounds like he had lost his mind,” Reiko says.

“I don’t know. But I wanted to end the game,” Touma says. “I had seen just how deadly Monokuma could be. The proof was laying in front of me.”

“But you became the deadly one, huh?” Ahoki says.

“Let me finish,” Touma says. “I assisted him in several ways. He told me that there was a key in the infirmary, and I found it in a medicine box. I scoped out the woodshop room for him in secret and told him about it. Later on, I did let him go from his restraints. Then, last night, he slipped a note under my door. It was the final part of the plan.”

“What was his plan?” Meijin asks.

“It’s one he told me about. He was a really, really quick learner. He just glanced at the pages on that manual and then copied them down from memory so he could reference them later,” Touma says. “He became obsessed with the generator. He told me that there’s oil stored in huge tanks underneath the school.

“So this was his ultimate plan. He told me that the game would just keep looping somehow, even if someone died or escaped. So he planned to use Monoprofen to blow up the fuel tanks and destroy the school. You can’t just reach the fuel tanks, though. So he planned to attach that car engine to the generator, moving it there with my help. Then he’d add the Monoprofen and trigger a chain reaction.

“It would kill the Mastermind for sure, if it’s one of us. And it would kill everyone, too. Hopefully for good.” Touma pauses for a moment after that revelation. “He began to doubt his plan. When he studied the wiring throughout the school, he told me that it didn’t make sense. We weren’t connected to the grid, but not all power was coming from the main generator in the boiler room.”

“Really?” Yusuke asks.

“Yeah. He started doubting himself. Then, I don’t know what happened. He became convinced he was the Mastermind himself.”

-

_Touma and Akira stood across from one another in the storage room._

_“We have to go through with it,” Akira said. “We’ve come so far already.”_

_“But if you’re the Mastermind, can’t you just stop the game?”_

_“Clearly I can’t. Monokuma doesn’t bend to my command. He shot me, after all. I might have started this awful killing game, but I cannot stop it with words alone.”_

_“So, wait. We were gonna blow everyone up to make sure that the Mastermind really died. But we know now that it’s you.”_

_“We don’t know how the game has been looping. I think that just some of us dying isn’t enough. We all need to die for it to end.”_

_“I can’t do this.” Touma clenched his fists._

_“You will. You now have blood on your hands, too.”_

_“I… I just…”_

_Akira scowled. “Be a man.”_

_Touma’s vision went red. He lunged forward and grabbed Akira by the scalp. He slammed Akira’s head into the nearby computer--_

-

“And I did it. I killed him,” Touma admits. “To save everyone else. I thought it would end the game. Akira was just about to order the engine, so I had an idea. I put his body on the delivery pad and ordered it. It came over but got stuck in place, beeping at me to move ‘the product’ off of the delivery pad. The crane looked like it was straining. I ran over and tried to shut off the generator in a hurry.”

“Akira… was going to kill everyone?” Nunosuke says, stunned.

“Fascinating…” Kokoro takes notes.

“The game has been looping?” Mariana asks. “But… with us?”

“So he claimed. He said he remembered dying once already in this game.” Touma shrugs. “I wasn’t sure if I bought it, but… I wanted to kill the Mastermind.”

“This is minor, but did you turn the generator back on?” Yuko asks.

Monokuma interjects. “Nope! I didn’t want to interfere too much, but the alarm was interrupting my beauty sleep, so I had my trusty Handy fix it!” he says. On cue, the disembodied hand pops out from behind the throne and waves.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that thing,” Reiko says, wincing.

“I see…” Kokoro continues to write.

“So you went through with it. Killing the Mastermind, I mean,” Meijin confirms, softly. “You didn’t get in trouble for crushing your Monopad?”

“I guess not. I wasn’t sure what would happen. I guess Monokuma didn’t want to spoil his game,” Touma says. “I dunno. It just felt like instinct. I thought there might be more he was hiding in his dorm, if he was the Mastermind. Then I watched his motive video and read his letter, and I… I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t accept I fucked up.” Touma closes his eyes. “I tried to hide some stuff. All I could think about was saving my own ass.”

“And I just kept going. ‘Be a man’. What a fucking joke. I’m not a man, I’m just a coward. A killer.” He can’t stop the tears from flowing again. “I was happy when you guys were about to vote for it being suicide or blaming Morihimo ‘cause I would get to get out of this hellhole and save my gramps. But I also didn’t want it to happen. The first thing he would do is critique my sloppy kill, or whatever. That bastard never let me rest.”

“Touma…” Mariana covers her mouth. “You’re wrong about one thing.”

“What?”

“You did kill Akira, but I don’t think it was entirely your idea.” Mariana takes a breath. “He wrote that suicide letter saying that he didn’t think he could go through with his plan to ‘take everyone down’ with him. He said he only wanted to take his own life.”

“So, what? It’s a good thing that I sped up the process?” Touma asks, doubtful.

“No. You’ve kept saying that phrase, ‘be a man’. I think Akira knew what it meant to you,” she says. “When you met in the storage room, he not only just said he’s the Mastermind, but then said he wants to kill everyone still. He then told you to ‘be a man’. Like he was egging you on.”

“You think… he wanted me to kill him?”

Mariana shrugs. “It’s just a possibility. He might not have been able to go through with killing himself. At least, I think he would need someone else’s help to die by having something heavy fall on him.”

“Mariana,” Touma says. “I’m doubtful, but… thanks. For tryin’ to cheer me up, even with what I did.”

“I have a more pressing issue.” Souta’s knuckles go white as he grips the podium. “In Akira’s dorm. Did you find it? A second letter. He told me there would be a certain… important letter.”

“Huh? I didn’t find anything like that,” Touma says. “There was only the suicide letter.”

“WHAT?!”

Mariana jumps. Souta’s never raises his voice above a whisper. His eyes are wide, wild, untamed. “You must have found it!” he begs. “Monokuma, let me search the dorm again! I must find that letter! I have to keep my promise to him--”

“Hm… yeah, nope.” Monokuma gives a thumbs-down. The Handy also gives a thumbs-down. “Now that Akira’s dead and the trial’s over, that dorm’s gonna be locked permanently.”

Souta tries to form words, but nothing comes out.

Monokuma continues. “Anyway, that’s enough talk, isn’t it? I think it’s showtime!”

“Showtime?” Meijin says. “You mean… the punishment?”

“That’s right! Touma committed murder. He interrupted your peaceful school life, locked in here indefinitely. For that, he must suffer punishment.”

Mariana’s stomach flips. Somehow, she already knows in her heart what he means.

Still, Chuya is the one to ask. “What do you mean? Like… time out?”

Monokuma throws his head back laughing. “Nope! I’m talking about an eye for an eye. The punishment for being caught as the Blackened… why, it’s execution, of course!”

“No!” Meijin gasps.

“W-wait!” Kuro says. “There’s no appeal? No three strike system?”

“Huuuh? You guys are acting like you’re not the ones who just sent him to his death. The vote was unanimous.” Monokuma tilts his head.

“We didn’t have a choice!” Chuya shouts. “Look, even if he was strange and mean to girls, and wanted to blow everyone up or whatever, losing Akira was enough of a tragedy! He was one of us, classmate or not! Why do we have to lose someone else?”

Mariana feels emboldened. “She’s right. You’re blaming us, but this is your sick game. The only reason any of this happened is because of you. In fact, Akira only wanted to do all that because you put him in this situation.”

“What if we all want Touma to live?” Meijin says, his jaw jutted out. “What if we vote on that?”

“He was just trying to save us,” Ahoki says. “Fuckin’ Akira… he wanted to kill everyone, man. We might not be here without this dude here, Touma.”

“And he’s, like, really funny! And smart!” Yuko says. “Isn’t he hurting enough already? Almost killing someone makes it feel like… like… my heart’s being torn open again and again. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have gone through with it. That’s punishment enough.”

Yusuke points at Monokuma. “Clearly, you’re outnumbered. We won’t let you take Touma from us. I will personally ensure he stays in line.”

“You… guys…” Touma stands slack-jawed.

“That’s… that’s so touching…” Monokuma sniffles. He rubs his eyes. “I think some tears are coming out…”

“Ehh? So you’re gonna let Touma walk?” Morihimo asks.

“Hm… yeah, still no. But I loved the scene!” Monokuma laughs.

“It’s okay,” Touma says, before anyone else argues. “Can’t say I wanna die, but I’ll get what I deserve. If I see Akira again, I can apologize. Maybe in the afterlife… maybe in this game again. Who knows?”

“Afterlife?” Souta whispers. “What afterlife?”

Monokuma produces a gavel. “Let’s go! It’s punishment time!”

He slams the gavel onto a large red button in front of him. A screen displays a tiny pixel version of Touma. A pixelated version of Monokuma drags him off as he kicks and thrashes.

**GAME OVER**

**TOUMA WATANABE HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY**

**TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT…**

A chain fires from down an unseen corridor. Touma can barely react as it flies toward his throat.

“No!” Mariana screams. “Don’t take him!”

She tries to dive in front of Touma, but she can’t reach him before a metal collar snaps around Touma’s neck. It yanks the boy straight down the corridor. The door slams closed, and a projector in the courtroom flickers to life.

\---

FALLEN WORDSMITH

TOUMA WATANABE’S EXECUTION

CHAPTER 1 EXECUTION: EXECUTED

Touma kneels on a stage before a microphone. A spotlight flashes on, highlighting the beads of cold sweat running down his face, pooling at the noose tied tight around his neck. Eyes stare at him from all directions—he's in a concert hall, the seats filled by cordially-dressed Monokumas.

He leans forward, pulled by the noose, and begins to tell a Rakugo story. The rope continually tightens, causing his voice to squeak; his timing flops, his voice cracks. The audience boos and Touma looks down, ashamed. He’s frozen, silent, and the yelling only grows louder. One Monokuma throws a tomato at him and it splats on his face. Another throws a rock that knocks off his glasses, breaking them.

Watching his anguish draws some laughs. They toss garbage and shoes and rotten food, piling up at his feet. Finally, under the weight of this, the stage underneath him cracks and Touma plummets into a pit.

He screams as he falls lower and lower, the rope giving more and more slack. There seems to be no end to the pit—until something rises from the blackness. The demonic and twisted face of his grandfather shrieks from the void, ready to consume Touma. He screeches in terror.

And then the screeching stops; a sick crack cuts it short. The rope reached its end. Way up in the rafters, a Monokuma reels in the rope like a fishing line.

The hanged body of Touma- neck broken, eyes bulging out- is displayed before the audience. The Monokuma all laugh and applaud.

From the courtroom, the students can’t look away from the scene being projected. The view slowly focuses in on Touma’s lifeless face.

\---

As suddenly as it begun, it’s over.

The projector turns off.

The elevator returns.

The door opens.

But the image remains branded into their minds, behind their eyelids. Touma’s agony. His grotesque face in death.

He died surrounded by laughter, but not appreciative laughter toward his jokes and stories. He died being mocked. He died in terror; he died in pain. His dead body remained hanged in the concert hall like a sideshow. Garbage littered the remaining pieces of the stage.

Mariana dry heaves, but nothing comes out. She collapses to her knees, swallowed by the podium. The courtroom spins out of control-- not from one of Monokuma’s tricks, but because she can barely hold onto her consciousness right now.

Someone else has died. Someone she called a friend. Someone she shared her secrets with-- he took them to the grave and she did nothing to stop it. She signed his death warrant.

Faintly, she can hear the other students are taking the news about as well as her. Yuko’s wailing; the sound becomes slightly muffled as Ahoki pulls her into an embrace. Reiko’s praying, but she’s trembling so hard that the prayer beads are clacking wildly. Chuya’s scream was sharp, brief, then she fainted completely.

From a mile away, she feels Meijin rubbing her shoulder soothingly. He’s not in much better condition. With his help, she stands up again. She grips his hand as if he’ll be pulled away next at any second.

“Ahahahahahahaha!”

Monokuma’s mocking, cartoonish laughter echoes in the room. He wipes imaginary sweat from his brow. “What a great execution! I’d call that one a massive success!”

Nobody responds. He cocks his head. “Huh? Don’t tell me you guys are putting on this mushy act over a convicted murderer.” He shakes his head, tutting at them. “You kids are too soft. Murder is murder. There’s no such thing as killing for a good reason or a bad reason; it’s all subjective. There’s only the cold, hard fact that Touma took Akira’s life.”

“This didn’t have to happen,” Mariana snaps. “He wasn’t a bad person. If it wasn’t for him, none of us might have been here right now.”

“Oh, really? Then you’d call Touma a ‘good person’.” Monokuma strokes his chin. “I’m a little confused, so tell me when you think Touma crosses a moral line. Was it when he grabbed Akira, who considered him a friend, by the scalp and slammed him into a computer so hard that it damaged his brain?”

Monokuma taps his chin. “Was it when he knowingly and meticulously placed Akira’s body on the delivery pad? Was it when he decided to drop a 270 kilogram car engine on him, shattering his spine, leading him to agonizingly drown in his own blood?”

“Stop it. Please, stop it,” Reiko pleads.

“Or… hm, if I was paying attention… was it when he covered up the evidence and lied to all of you in hopes of having you all executed so he could go free?” Monokuma asks. “Or does Mariana think all of that is completely acceptable?”

“Where’s the part where you took a depressed teenager, locked him in a school, threatened his family, and encouraged him at every turn to kill someone?” Mariana spits.

Nunosuke speaks up. “In a true court of law, this might be considered manslaughter. The sentence would likely involve some form of rehabilitation. This kangaroo court into which we’ve been forced gave us no choice but to execute him, despite our will. Now you have the gall to act like you’ve done us a service?”

“We can’t forget his sacrifice.” Meijin sniffs. “He would want us to keep working together. We need to prevent anything like this from happening again and get out of here.”

Yusuke helps up Chuya as she recovers. Yuko’s pulled herself together and both she and Ahoki look like they’re about to jump Monokuma. Hinako’s unresponsive, but jolts to life when Kuro touches her arm.

The class grows closer. The horror of what happened might steer them away from letting such a thing happen again.

But then Monokuma speaks again.

“I see how it is,” Monokuma says, chuckling lowly. “You think that someone’s circumstances excuse their actions. You think that anyone could be a fantastic person if they just had the perfect environment.”

He hops off of the throne and paces across the courtroom. “You think that people are blank slates, or like lumps of clay that can be molded however. That theory also implies just the opposite. Anyone could become a murderer if the circumstances are bleak enough. Heroes, saints, family, friends-- the only thing that stops them from snapping your neck at any moment is because of just circumstance.”

As he nears the elevator, he turns to continue his speech. “You’ll never escape what you are, not any more than a person can outrun their shadow. What if your fetish for self-improvement drives you to Despair? What if it turns out that you’re utterly worthless at everything except killing? Should you continue self-improvement to become the best murderer you can be? Or is it then you would realize that everyone is born with a role to fill?

“Right now, you children think this is an isolated incident. As if you know better now. But let me make this clear.” Monokuma’s red eye glows. “The sooner you give into Despair, the less time you’ll spend treading water in a relentless and unforgiving tide. If you aren’t next to kill, someone else will be. Then maybe you all won’t be so lucky and your heads will be on the chopping block.”

It’s utterly repulsive. It’s the opposite of what Mariana believes in. She balls her fists and gets ready for a comeback, but Souta speaks first. “The bodies. What will you do with the bodies?”

Meijin blanches. “What?”

It’s certainly not the rebuttal that Monokuma’s expecting. He shrugs. “Burn ‘em, bury ‘em, put ‘em in a stew! What’s it matter to you? They’re dead.”

“If you aren’t interested in them, let me keep them. At least, let me keep the heads. I need their heads. I can do the amputation myself,” Souta says, his voice becoming more desperate with every word. “In fact, I insist upon it.”

“What in the world…?” Yusuke’s brow knits in disgust.

“Oi, you can’t just let ‘em rest in peace?” Ahoki snarls.

Souta’s met with a wave of disgust from all around. Everywhere he turns, every student wears a grimace.

“Interesting… very interesting.” Monokuma stifles a giggle. “I loathe to think of what someone like you would get up to with them, but… seeing as it will drive the class apart and spread Despair so much faster… fine. I’ll comply.”

“What are you going to do with them?” Mariana says, unable to even look at Souta. “Put their vocal chords in a jar or something?”

“I can’t explain myself right now.” Souta closes his eyes. “I understand how this looks… but please have faith in me.”

“Look for a surprise in your lab,” Monokuma says, before he vanishes.

The students are left staring down Souta.

“I think I’m going to be sick…” Chuya says.

“Disgusting, truly,” Nunosuke says. “You would decapitate them-- defile them, after what just occurred? Did this mean nothing to you?”

“May the gods forgive you,” Reiko says.

“Just tell us what you’re trying to do,” Mariana pleads.

Souta clenches his teeth. “I cannot answer right now.”

“All of this was caused by keeping secrets!” Meijin snaps. “Monokuma just said he only complied because it’s going to make us miserable! And even after that, you won’t tell us what’s going on?!”

Eyes bore holes into Souta from every direction. Despite this, he doesn’t answer.

“Let’s just go. The elevator is waiting,” Mariana says. She glances over her shoulder. “Souta… you’re stupid. You’re just hurting people who are hurting already.”

As she walks away, Souta lunges at her desperately. “Mariana--”

He’s intercepted by Meijin grabbing his wrist. The brittle joint pops. “Don’t fucking touch her,” he hisses.

Having realized what he did, Meijin drops Souta’s wrist. He stares at his own hands as he boards the elevator. A bruise begins to form on Souta’s wrist.

The other students board. Souta is last to get in. Not a word is spoken as they return to the school above.

They’re one student lesser, but it feels like much more was lost.

\---

You got the gift: Golden Microphone Pin!

**STUDENTS REMAINING: 13**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rakugo in Japanese means ‘fallen words’.


End file.
